The Senate, pink Aussie flags and 5000 bums
Last Monday morning (1 March 2010), on the fabled steps of the Sydney Opera House, photographer Spencer Tunick – world renown for his photos of mass nudity – snapped a five-thousand strong contingent of butt-naked nudites under the House’s white sails.
Said Mr Tunick of the event, “Gay men and women lay naked next to their straight neighbours and this delivered a very strong message to the world that Australians embrace a free and equal society.”
Australians have been demonstrating “a free and equal society” for pretty much most of its recent history (yes, ok – many could state that that statement has a fair bit of contention, but by and large I hold it… Continue reading ...
Top 10 thoughts for 2009
There’s something about the end of the calendar year that causes us to reflect on the year that has just casually slipped us by. Typically celebrated in a fluttering of fireworks (or dazzling summer lightening storms and resounding thunder – as was the case in Melbourne, Australia, this last New Year’s Eve) most people take the time to spend with family and friends, among who a great many of them still remember “last year’s New Year’s Eve” (or should that be “the year before last’s New Year’s Eve”?) as though it were yesterday.
Memories can be a curious thing. So it’s with similar curiosity that I’m posting a listing of my most viewed articles for 2009 on thoughts out !oud
“Gay marriage like incest” or “how to take quotations completely out of context”
In the wake of the repeal of same-sex marriage legislation by the constituents in Maine last month, the Australian Senate was presented with a private members bill to amend the traditional definition of marriage. The Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009, seeking to replace the words “a man and a woman” with “any two persons”, attracted the largest number of submissions from the public – in excess of 28,000, a record number for any Bill.
Australian Senate rejects Marriage Equality Bill
The amendment was rejected by the Senate with a 2/3 majority of the submissions opposing the Bill.
These facts and figures would be amazing by themselves if it were not for the comments made by Family First Senator… Continue reading ...
Record high submissions received by Senate Inquiry indicate 67% oppose the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill
Lodged as a private members Bill by Greens Senator Sarah-Hanson Young, the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009 expressly seeks to alter the legal definition of marriage from “one man and one woman” to “any two people”.
Reported in a recent AAP article, the Bill had received a number of submissions in excess of 26,000 – a record for any Senate inquiry, indicating that the definition of marriage is of a key concern to many in the Australian constituency.
Approximately 67% of the submissions received were opposed to the Bill.
The report implies that the one-sided opposition may in fact be due to two factors: duplicate submissions and a large number of “formula emails sent by Christian groups”… Continue reading ...
The Kiwis publish their 21 reasons why (hetero) marriage matters
While it seems Europe has fallen (for the most part), and the US is in the midst of duking it out, those of us floating around in the Indian and Pacific Oceans are perhaps only beginning – somewhat lethargically – to take up arms. The issue of same-sex marriage (or “marriage neutering”, as The Opine Editorials fondly terms it) in Australia and New Zealand is gearing up for full-swing.
Last month, in Australia, the Senate ceased taking submissions on the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009, a Bill which seeks to redefine marriage as a union between “two persons” (but what if I had two boyfriends? Can’t I marry them both? That’s unfair!). The Senate inquiry is due to have a report by 26 November 2009. I would… Continue reading ...
There’s no inequality for the Greens’s Marriage Equality Amendment Bill to address
On 25 June 2009, Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young lodged the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill in the Australian Senate.
This Bill seeks to repeal the definition outlined in the Marriage Act 1961, redefining the definition of “marriage” as meaning:
the union of two people, regardless of their sex, sexuality or gender identity, voluntarily entered into for life.
The current definition of “marriage” reads, and ought to remain, as meaning:
the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.
All Australians concerned about retaining the natural definition of marriage ought to consider writing a brief letter to the Senate, requesting them… Continue reading ...
Carrie Prejean: beauty queen ursurped
No sooner than a month after Donald Trump, owner of the Miss USA Organization, declared that Carrie Prejean would retain her crown as Miss California, Ms Prejean last week had her crown wrested away from her – with the blessing of Mr Trump.
There is no doubt that the majority of the gay and lesbian community would have celebrated the issuance of the pinkslip to Ms Prejean following her comments in support of opposite-sex marriage in last April’s Miss USA beauty pageant. At the pageant, Ms Prejean fielded a question from gay celebrity personality Perez Hilton on what she thought about gay marriage; her response, though far from eloquent, was simple, respectful and to the point: she believes… Continue reading ...
Was Ethan McNamee manipulated by pro-GLBT lobbyists?
While researching my earlier article on the pro-gay marriage rally speech performed by nine year-old Ethan McNamee, one thing I noticed on the various GLBT blogs were comments that conservatives claimed Ethan was manipulated.
I don’t really know if this claim is substantiated; I couldn’t even find a conservative blog or news article that covered the event in which this view was apparently put forward. Perhaps I didn’t delve deep enough into the Google search results? Or I just didn’t read through the many comments left by people on the news sites and blogs that had articles on the subject?
While I don’t personally ascribed to the notion that Ethan was manipulated, I believe it is… Continue reading ...
Quote: The Importance of Family
James Q. Wilson, a political scientist, in the March 1996 issue of Reader’s Digest, wrote:
The family is not one of several alternative lifestyles. It is not an arena in which rights are negotiated; it is not an old-fashioned barrier to a promiscuous sex life; it is not a set of cost-benefit calculations. It is a commitment for which there is no feasible substitute… There is no way to prepare for this commitment other than to make it… Married life is shaped by the fact that the couple has made a solemn vow before family and friends that this is for keeps…
HT to Salting Society, where I first spotted and subsequently and unashamedly flogged this quote from. I liked it so much, I had to… Continue reading ...
Third grader organises and speaks at pro-gay marriage rally
This is a video taken of Ethan McNamee’s speech, which he delivered at a pro-gay marriage rally that he organised for a school project last Saturday, May 16. Ethan, a nine year old third grader from Montclaire Elementary School in Denver, Colorado, showed amazing poise for his age in front of the crowd that had gathered outside of the steps of the Denver state capitol building.
Below the video, I have also transcribed Ethan’s speech (as best I could. Please let me know if you believe I’ve transcribed anything incorrectly.
I will follow up with some remarks on this event in a separate post.
(This is now published: Ethan McNamee – 9yo gay-marriage advocate.)
While I definitely applaud Ethan’s spirit, courage and confidence to organise such… Continue reading ...
Carrie Prejean: nude pics, hypocrisy, intolerance and … irrelevancy 101
Since Carrie Prejean became an American household name on April 19 during the Miss USA beauty pageant for her “politically incorrect” response to a question on same-sex marriage, there has been no end of malicious attacks on her name – in the media and the blogosphere.
To recap, Ms Prejean answered that she believed marriage was to be between one man and one woman. When she completed her answer, two things occurred: 1) the crowd at the pageant erupted in applause in support of her answer; 2) the blogosphere began lighting up with livid, pro-homosexual rants denouncing her “bigotry” and proceeded to drag out the shovels from their sheds to see what dirt they could dig up.
Now irrespective… Continue reading ...
Fake breasts, but real gutsy answers: Carrie Prejean
Carrie Prejean is a brave soul. As many would now be aware, the Miss California beauty queen, in the Miss USA beauty pageant this past April, was one of the front runners for taking out the title – she was easily top three and was the likely winning candidate. At least she was until she honestly spoke her mind regarding the question put to her by celebrity blogger, radio host and author Perez Hilton, who asked: what is your view on same-sex marriage.
Ms Prejean’s answer was simple, non-condescending, fair, non-judgemental and, above all else, brave:
I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage and, you know what, in… Continue reading ...
Blood on the boil: homosexuals see red over discrimination
You would be hard pressed to find someone who would not agree that the donating of blood is a most worthy cause. Many thousands of Australians each year cheerfully bear an arm to give blood once every ninety days. There a many more Australians willing to do the same, it seems – yet they won’t because they believe that they can’t and that they are unduly discriminated against simply because they are gay. I would encourage them to look a little more closely as I can’t see any discrimination that is based on sexual preference whatsoever.
The facility to donate blood is an important facility within any country – no differently here Down Under: each week, more than 21,000 units of blood are required in order to meet demand… Continue reading ...
What’s your view on ‘some-sex’ marriage?
No, it’s not a typo – I actually did intend on typing ‘some-sex marriage’, not ‘same-sex marriage’. It’s the caption to the otherwise hazy picture of this cartoon that was found in a random mag of a doctors surgery waiting room.
Given I’ve been reading a bit on the controversial topic of same-sex marriage in recent weeks, my wife thought she’d send this for a laugh while waiting to see her doctor this morning. And a laugh it got!
By the way, what’s your position on some-sex marriage?
(Heads up: Not that I’ve addressed the topic of same-sex marriage on my blog as yet … but look… Continue reading ...
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