June 7 – The “I DO” Program

Before I get into this post, I would like to highlight a few things:

• This is MY blog, so MY opinions
• If you disagree, feel free to comment, but do not tell me I am “wrong” as that is something I wouldn’t say to you.
• I am happy to discuss this post with you if you would like to, but I won’t enter into a degrading conversation

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s begin.

I have a large and diverse family – I drew up a mock wedding guest list and had over 100 guests just from  my side. In my family, it is safe to say that roughly 15% are gay.

My Uncle Darrin, who lives in QLD, and I were discussing Gay Rights yesterday and he made a comment that really drove it home to me:
“You’re a Ringless Wife, yet you still have rights.”

I was a little blown away by this statement, as it’s nothing I had thought of before. It’s true, if Daniel and I were to split up, I would be entitled to half the house and contents, even though we aren’t married. Also, if we were to get married, it wouldn’t be a big thing in the eyes of the general populace, as we have a right to be married and be happy. We are “living in sin,” and have been for six years now, yet no-one bats an eyelid. Defacto relationships, which were once a serious no-go zone, are now so common place that it is on official forms to fill in.

The bible talks against living in sin, but no one fights against that now. We now have rights;  So why don’t my gay family members?

Recently, a new site has popped up called Equal Love, and from that one so has Equal Love Brisbane. These groups have been setting up rallies in Sydney and Melbourne to help show that the GBLT community has had enough of being down trodden and treated like second class citizens. At this point, I have not seen a lot of rallies or the like in Brisbane,  but I look forward to the time when I see one, or when I get a photo of my Gay Cockroaches parading down the CBD to fight for their rights.

All of the pages and sites regarding Gay Rights in Australia have boosted significantly due to the “I DO” program that is being run by Sunrise. Unfortunately, they are also copping a lot of backlash.

The “I DO” program is a petition to fight for the rights of the GBLT community to be married to whomever they wish, whether or not they both have bajingos or doodles or a matching duck beak. They are campaiging for basic human rights – the right love who they want, be with who they want, and be happy with who they want. Happiness is not privilege, it’s a right.

My Uncle has said:
While the Equal Marriage Rights debate has been somewhat sabotaged by the controversy over Civil Unions here in Queensland, more work needs to be done in Brisbane to highlight the only real change for equal rights is to the Federal Marriage Act. Marriage is a federal issue and not a state one. I do not support Civil Unions as I believe they only further entrench discrimination against people of the gay and lesbian community. Why should my relationships be treated any differently to those of my brother or sister or for that matter, my parents? My brother and his wife were married on a beach in NSW but it is still a marriage. My sister and her husband were married in a park but it is still a marriage. I continually feel that I am being discriminated against because I am gay! I support the view of Justice Kirby that I too feel like a second class citizen in my own country! EQUAL RIGHTS ARE A HUMAN RIGHT!

I have signed the petition, and I hope you do too. What would you do if it was your child, and they wanted to get married – and you had to stand by and watch them have no rights? One day, my babies are going to grow up in a world that views all people as the same – but to do that, we need to stand together. We need to rally in the major cities, we need to sign any petitions we can, we need to do all within our power to help give basic human rights back to a community that has been stripped of them.

What can you do to help? I’ve added links below where you can register your support for the GBLT community. It  takes only a minute of time, and, in all honesty, support is the biggest super power you have. Never underestimate the power of support.

You can thank SUNRISE for their support here
You can sign the petition here
You can help be a force behind a Brisbane rally here
You can support the GETUP movement here
You can support the Wipeout Homophobia movement here

April 30: Oh You’re Gay? Would you like to be lynched now, or later?

I am someone who believes that love is just that: Love.

I don’t care if you’re gay, straight, bi, transgender, or purple with pink polka dots – if you can find someone to be happy with, then why should you refrain because of the twisted view of some?

I have several aunts, an uncle, some cousins and many a  great friend who all identify as “Gay” – and one of them was scared to tell me, in case I was upset by their decision to clean out their closet. News Flash! I don’t give a flying rats patootie!

The decision to come clean is not an easy one for any person to make. It involves a lot of heart ache, fear, soul searching and guts. I am one of these people who can appreciate those facts, and will give you the kudos you deserve for admitting to a close minded world that you are “breaking the mold.”

There are several groups now where the GLBT community can recieve support. These groups are an invaluable source for the people who are ridiculed and threatened because of their sexual orientation.

I’ve been told “They choose to  be gay.” Well, when did you choose to be straight? And don’t forget, it’s straight people who are making the (to quote Sweet Mother) Gaybies!

To say that two gay people getting married is desanctifying the sacred tradition is such a stretch that it is impossible to fully grasp. What about the millions of people who have been married 1, 2, 3, 4 times? How is that not desanctifying? Is marrying someone of the same sex going to lead to animal marriages outside of the Jerry Springer show?

When two people make a decision to be married, it means that they are so in love that they cannot imagine their lives without the other person in it. It means they are going to create a home where they can be a family, and yes, possibly raise babies. It means the level of commitment they have extends beyond the realm of ticking “de facto” on the information sheets.

I know plenty of people raised by gay parents – and they are all the most accepting and non-judgemental people I know. I know plenty of people raised by straight parents who so judgemental that I want to pull the stick out of their ass.

I don’t understand how people who love each other can be condemned for that love? But straight people aren’t. Does this means that ones love is invalid compared to the other?

I know that if someone was to say to me “you and Daniel can’t get married, because you’re not in a real relationship and you will be ruining the sanctity of marriage,” I would be fuming! I would be taking names and kicking back sides, I would be doing everything I possibly could because I know it would be wrong.

So why are there so many people out there willing to lynch other people for their sexual preference!? Does it really matter, so long as they’re not forcing it on you? If God wants all his chlidren to be happy and loved, why is there somuch hatred from the religious groups?

Why are we “straighties” allowed to decide what is real, what is worthy, and what is valid, in a relationship that is between two gay people?

Personally, I don’t give a shit what you do, or what sex the person you marry is, as long as you still stay the same. So don’t be turning into any animals or anything, alright?