I hate to be the “it’s current year!!!” guy, but, I mean, it’s 20-goddamn-16 and Australia is still flailing around uselessly about marriage equality like it’s some impossible dream.
Despite polls showing that the majority of Australia supports same-sex marriage, and also that it would likely pass if put to a free vote in Parliament, we’re still umm-ing and ahh-ing about putting it to a non-binding, inflammatory, expensive popular vote.
Why not just have the vote and be done with it, you ask? Because, frankly, the plebiscite fucking sucks and it’s embarrassing that we should have to go through it.
When then prime minister John Howard decided it would be awesome to reword the Marriage Act in 2004 so as to specifically define marriage as being between a man and a woman, it wasn’t put to the people for a vote, so why should we have one now?
Not only is it degrading having the whole of Australia vote on whether or not you deserve rights, it’s also potentially very harmful. Both the Greens and Labor have stressed the risks of encouraging widespread debate on the issue, saying that likely it will only make already catastrophically high rates of self-harm and suicide among LGBTIQ teens even higher.
While the Libs have brushed these claims off, insisting that the debate will be “respectful”, that has already been shown not to be the case. Between national newspapers comparing the same-sex marriage movement to Nazis, and others using the change of consent laws for anal sex in Queensland to compare gay men to pedophiles, it has been pretty shit so far – and it hasn’t even started yet.
It’s hard to believe, but these people really think that the at-risk teens who already feel ostracised and scared won’t be negatively impacted by TV ads and constant debate about whether they should be treated like 2nd class citizens.
Lifeline Australia seems to be taking the issue a little more seriously than the government are, with Buzzfeed today reporting that they’ve added a category to the national suicide hotline specifically for the “2016 Marriage Equality Plebiscite“.
The categories are used to track the main reason for emergency calls so they can track what issues are having an impact in Australia and adjust their services accordingly – added alongside the plebiscite were things like the dairy farmers’ crisis and the greyhound racing ban.
A spokesperson for Lifeline Australia said they remain apolitical but will provide all the help they can to those affected:
“Lifeline has no view about the plebiscite itself – that is a decision for our society and its democratic processes. As with community conversations on suicide, Lifeline encourages safe and respectful communication regarding marriage equality.“Lifeline Australia is very carefully listening to the community and our help-seekers about the same-sex marriage debate and how LGTBI and other people may be affected. Based on the evidence we see, we will ensure that our service delivery does all it can to help people who may be impacted.”
They’re encouraging anyone who has been distressed or affected by the debate to contact them on their 24/7 crisis line (13 11 14) or their nightly Crisis Support Chat Service.
Source: BuzzFeed.
Photo: Torsten Blackwood / Getty.
