If you had the opportunity to make someone happy and not have it affect you in anyway, would you do it?
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As everyone is aware, the Turnbull government has – through the Australian Bureau of Statistics – sent out a survey as to whether Australians are for or against same-sex marriage.
[It's] about respect, dignity, legal recognition and next-of-kin status
Everyone has the right to fill in the non-compulsory postal “vote” however they choose. Be it Yes or No, everyone’s opinion is valid. But I would like to share some facts about same-sex relationships in a global context.
Australia is the only developed, English-speaking country to not have marriage equality. Countries where same-sex marriage is enshrined in law have lower rates of teen suicide. In June 2015, there were about 48,000 same-sex couples living in Australia, up from about 33,700 in 2011.
I don’t know what the rest of the Yass Valley is thinking when it comes to the topic of same-sex marriage, but I have a personal connection to the LGBTI+ community and want to see my family and friends able to marry the people they love.
I respect everyone’s opinion, no matter which box they tick, but I do strongly believe that when you tick one of the boxes, you should be ticking it for the right reason.
The vote is not about the children of Australia. Same-sex couples are already able to adopt and use a surrogate to start their own family.
The vote is not about religious freedom. Churches have always been able to choose whom they will or won’t marry and will (or won’t) continue to do so, no matter the outcome.
The vote is about same-sex couples gaining the respect, dignity, legal recognition and next-of-kin status of couples in heterosexual marriages.
I believe the “no” campaign is primarily based on scare tactics and irrelevant studies that are in no way constructive to the issue at hand.
The same-sex marriage debate isn’t just about same-sex marriage, though. It is a Band-Aid over a long-standing split between two major parties that have now stuck together to make government without any actual agreement when it comes to policy or economic/social ideology.
- Caleb, a saxophonist, studies human nutrition at the University of Canberra and is the founder/owner of Knarf Music and Tuition
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Are you aged in your teens or 20s and would you like to be featured as a Young Writer in the Yass Tribune? Email zac.lowe@fairfaxmedia.com.au