A Touchy Subject

I'm just going to come out and say it: I'm pro Gay Marriage.

It seems to be one of those recurring yet unresolved issues that circulates in national politics and yet holds international interest. We keep coming back to it, but can't seem to figure it out. Some countries have legalised it, most have not. In some countries, homosexual couples can be seen as de facto, but can't have a legally binding ceremony. And I don't really get why.

Being Catholic, I understand the religious doctrine surrounding homosexuality (and for the record, they're not against being gay, per se, just sex between two men or two women, because sex is purely for procreation which can only occur with a man and a woman). But I don't get why the government won't allow two people who love each other to get married in a civil ceremony.

What frustrates me is lobby groups who say that allowing gay people to get married goes against religious teachings, is unnatural, and undermines the traditional nature of both the marriage ceremony and the concept of the family.

To this, I call bullshit.

Marriage started out as a form of barter; it was a contract. As in, "I give you my daughter for that bit of land". The religious part came later, and if couples are seeking a civil ceremony, this is a moot point. It's not a religious ceremony.

Being gay is unnatural? It might not be the norm, but it's definitely not unnatural. It's as natural as me wearing glasses, being pale, or having curly hair. It's as natural as preferring white chocolate to dark. It's as natural as not liking Vegemite, or wanting to listen to Iggy Pop. It's an intrinsic matter of preference that is one of the most natural thing in the world, but for some reason cannot be seen as such. It's a classic case of "othering" - creating an 'other' that is not you, and failing to understand it.

And as to challenging the nature of the family, I fail to see the issue. Two people of the same sex love each other, and want to raise children together? I think that's awesome. There doesn't seem to be that much of an issue with single-parent families. And gay couples have to plan their children - they're not 'accidents', as they can be even in heterosexual marriages. I honestly think that children being raised by two men or two women who truly love each other is better than being raised by a man and a woman who can't get along, and who are 'staying together for the kids'.

Then there's the points that are often glossed over: the high divorce rate amongst hetero couples, the amount of straight couples who marry but don't have children, and the amount of straight couples who have children but don't marry. The latter two are never doubted as 'family', so why should a gay couple?

When it boils down to it, I think that if two people love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together, a piece of outdated legislation shouldn't stop them. If gay couples can be recognised by Centrelink as being de facto, then why can't they take that next step if they wish? If they don't want to, they don't have to. But everyone deserves that choice.