The Australian Christian Lobby is asking the government to suspend anti-discrimination and vilification laws in the lead-up to the plebiscite on marriage equality. They say that this these laws would mean that it was not possible or safe for the ‘no’ campaign to put their case against marriage equality.
To me, this sounds like an admission of defeat. If you can’t put your case without committing “any public act that could incite or encourage hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule [because of someone’s] race, homosexuality or transgender status, or because they have HIV/AIDS“, then there is something seriously wrong with your case.
(For those who are curious, here is a quick guide to Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation, both Federal and state by state)
I am a Christian. I also support marriage equality. I support marriage equality in part because I am a Christian, and to me, that means I have a duty to seek justice and to stand with the oppressed. Setting aside all other considerations, our marriage laws are unjust on a purely practical level. As we saw with the sad case recently in South Australia, where a young British man died on his honeymoon and his husband was excluded by law from being named as his husband on the death certificate – and was only able to make funeral arrangements under the sufferance of his father in law – our laws do not protect gay couples at the times when they most need protection.
If I died, the law would automatically assume that my husband was my next of kin, entitled to make decisions about everything from organ donation to funeral arrangements. If I had children, my husband would not have to do a thing to be recognised as their guardian. If I didn’t have a will, he would still be my chief beneficiary. If I were sick before I died, there would be no question of him being unable to visit me.
My friends who are gay cannot take these things for granted. If their partners’ families do not approve of their relationship, they risk losing everything in an emergency, including the right to be recognised as a part of their partner’s life. Even with a registered relationship, one does not have the same rights as a straight couple would have.
This is not just, or right, or fair, and it sends a terrible message to young people who might be gay – it tells them that their relationships are second class, that the state does not recognise them as equal, and it validates the opinions of those who do not accept them.
But getting back to the Australian Christian Lobby, their argument seems to be, as I understand it, that *any* statement against marriage equality will be viewed as discriminatory, and therefore they can’t argue against it.
Look, I don’t much like the Australian Christian Lobby, but I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt for a moment. I’m going to assume that they are coming from a place of sincerity – that they really do fear that they are being persecuted, and that anything they say against marriage equality might get them jailed for vilification.
And so, if anyone from the ACL or who agrees with them is reading this, let me say, with as much kindness as possible, that I believe you are mistaken.
