National gay marriage rally divides Christians and Politicians
Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 2:08 pm | Reported by Rebekah Ison
Politicians and Christians are divided after a local reverend announced he will conduct same sex marriages during Equal Love Day in Brisbane.
Religion has been a major topic of previous local campaigns. This year numerous Christian leaders have expressed their support of gay marriage. Source: Equal Love, used with permission.
Brisbane Metropolitan Community Church Senior Leader, Reverend Leigh Neighbour, will be one of many Christian leaders around the country campaigning on August 14th for marriage equality.
He said the gay marriage debate is a human rights matter.
“There are people that believe the marginalisation of human kind has to stop,” he said
“We [Metropolitan Community Church] and I myself believe that we are created as equal human beings and we are not to be marginalised by anyone.”
The Catholic Church disagreed with Reverend Leigh’s acceptance of gay marriage.
A Catholic Archdiocese spokesman said allowing same sex couples to wed would negate the traditional essence of marriage.
“From a church point of view we don’t believe we can change the nature of marriage which is a lifelong union between a man and a woman and open to the good of procreation through their own marital acts,” he said.
“Both the government and the opposition have expressed that they support the traditional understanding of the nature of marriage.”
Brisbane Family First Candidate, Mark White, agreed with the Archdioceses and added children of gay married couples would be disadvantaged.
“The rights of the child are that they should have a mother and a father to learn from,” he said.
“I’m not saying two women or two men wouldn’t be able to care for a child…. marriage isn’t about love - it’s about a commitment between a man and a woman to raise children to be good citizens.”
Brisbane Greens Candidate, Andrew Bartlett, said most Australians are in favour of legalising gay marriage despite the views of the country’s two major political parties.
“It’s undoubtedly something that there has been growing public support for over time,” he said
“Certainly all the surveys I’ve seen in recent times support equality under the law for people regardless of their sexuality including the right to marry regardless of the gender of their partner.”
Mark White fervently dismissed Mr Bartlett’s comments, labelling them as “hogwash”.
“He can say whatever he likes… you know … Majority of Australians are for legalising drugs. That’s a load of Hogwash isn’t it?”
Equal Love Day kicks off around the country at one pm on Saturday.
Tags: Catholic Church, Equality, Family first, Gay, gay rights, Greens, Metropolitan Community Church, politics, Queer, Religion
Actually Mark White, the legalisation of drugs (or at least decriminalisation) is not a load of hogwash. In fact, it’s probably something you will see within your lifetime – at least for marijuana. Suck it up buddy.
I can’t claim to be either a Christian or a politician….I’m an athiest and a good person. Many people of faith – people who believe in mythical beings – would frown upon me. Evolution and the way we all came to be and the amazing universe excites me far more than the faith I once had. Equal Love Day is happening that I wholeheartedly support. If the human race treated each other with love, respect and equality, what a wonderful world we’d live in. Good luck to all the gay people in their quest to be treated in that way. I send thanks to all the church people who’ve decided to side with common sense. I long for the day that science proves that homosexuality is genetic and that people don’t have a choice.
Finally a Christian religious official willing to make a stand for what he believes is right, even thought the church, the pope, and the other religious officials may disagree.
No matter which way you look at it some human beings are having a right held from them, that others freely enjoy. This is discrimination and inequality, it must stop.
It is about time