Marriage?

Same sex marriage. This issue polarizes people all over the world. Last night in Palmerston North there was a public meeting debating same sex marriages. I didn't go to it as I just found out about here.

Presently, the New Zealand Parliament are debating a Bill that will give equal rights to gay and lesbian couples in New Zealand.

If I was advising John Key about this I would say these things:

1. Don't listen to the religious nut cases when it comes to this kind of issue. Their lives are ruled by some book that tells a story about some characters from 2000 years ago and is their total life. Just because someone wrote that same sex marriages is a sin then should you decide that to?

2. As far as I am concerned a person does not just become hetro-sexual or homosexual, they are born that way or the other. Of course I do know that teenage males (and this is from personal experience) do have homo-sexual thoughts but this is just a natural thing as the body is changing. (For the record I like women.)

3. Same sex couples love each other as much or more than men-women couples. So why shouldn't they be able to commit to each other by going through the engagement and wedding processes?

4. Same sex couples should be allowed to adopt children. Why? On many occasions both members of the couple are professional workers who live a very good lifestyle in large houses with a big disposable income. It would be a very stable environment that the child is entering. Contrast that to some hero-sexual couples where the guy has 4 children with three different women, no job, on the dole and in and out of prison. Now ask yourself, which couple would you like to adopt your child?

5. There is no such thing as normal. What is normal? How long is a piece of string? Historically , yes, a man and woman have entered into the institution of marriage. By why shouldn't a man and man who love each other enter into that same institution? How is it going to affect your conservative life?

6. Raising a child in a same sex marriage isn't going to make the child that way inclined. Their sexuality will be determined at birth and their parents sexuality has no baring on it.

7. Some people may say that it is not a big deal and the fact that homosexuality is not a crime is a good thing and at least the homosexual couples can just live a normal life. Of course this kind of thinking would be by hetro-sexuals who can get married. It's like me saying in apartheid South Africa that it is no big deal. You can still do stuff. That just is not right.

8. We live in a secular country and governments over the years have decided for better or worse to listen to religious institutions. Why should we do this in 2012?

9. Don't say because they have the civil union right then they don't need marriage. Civil unions do not have the same right as married couples. Financial, medical and social rights and they should have. They are tax paying New Zealanders.

10. Issues such as teen suicide could be reduced. If the stigma of homosexuality is extinguished then teenagers will be more confident in themselves and they won't have to hide their sexuality as homosexuality will be considered normal, again, whatever that is.