[The Australian Family Association]
The Australian Family Association (AFA) is really keen to make sure it keeps marriage between one man and one woman. Really keen. They’ve launched a campaign. They must be running scared. Perhaps the Equal Love campaign has had more success than they thought. Perhaps the recent surveys showing 60% of Australians support equal rights to marriage has then worried.
The AFA likes tradition. They want marriage to be between one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others and for a life long commitment. They want you to get married and stay married, they want you to have children, so lots of breeding. They also want the woman to stay at home, barefoot no doubt, and the man to go out and work. They think that ‘family’ is all about being married to a person from the opposite sex, they think life is sacred from conception. They think that a family is designed, they think the law should punish you if you break your marriage vows.
For them marriage is all about control. Women are kept by their husbands, there can be no abortions, if you cheat on your partner civil law should punish you, perhaps they would like a public flogging.
Oh, yes, they’re very nice to ‘non-traditional’ relationships. They acknowledge that there are a variety of human families. Its very generous of them.
The AFA wants family to be their definition. They ignore the reality of the world. People for as long as we can remember come together in convenient groupings, and when that grouping fails, we move on. That’s what family is. It’s what you make it. Two men living together and raising children is as valid as a man and a women doing the same thing. Marriage simply creates a method of ownership and control and isn’t needed at all.
I bet, to completely stereotype, the AFA is run by a bunch of crusty old men with a few dried up women who think things were much better in the 1950’s, who think the world would be a much better place if we would all just listen to them. They have little concept of the real world in the 21st century and would enjoy nothing more than having the power to control peoples lives.
Time and time again these organisations can show no reason why same sex relationships shouldn’t enjoy the same rights as opposite sex relationships. They continually ignore that most people just get on with their lives regardless of marriage. People live together and separate as needed, without the legal mumbo jumbo of marriage. We don’t need civil marriage, we certainly don’t need religious marriage. Of course, we do need laws that protect children and protect people in relationships, but let’s just get rid of the archaic quaint notion of marriage. It’s day is done.
While I’m waiting for that to happen, if someone wants to get married, if anyone wants to get married, then let them. Stop standing in their way.
I have the feeling the same-sex marriage protests on Nov 28th are going to be huge.
It would be good to see a wide range of people out in force!