Queer eye for a straight victory

“Inevitable and desirable” was how one of the panellists, lawyer Greg Barnes, described marriage equality in Australia. And that was the upshot from last night’s marriage equality forum: optimism. For it seems marriage equality, whether at State level or federally across Australia, stands a good chance of becoming law. (If it does, it would be the eleventh member of a sadly exclusive group of progressive countries where marriage equality is legal.)

This optimism was tinged with sadness for the discrimination inflicted by Tasmanians upon fellow Tasmanians in the past, just because of their sexuality or gender – and which is still inflicted today – admittedly and thankfully, a lot less than it was. And equally it was tinged by a strong sense of love, the fundamental reason most Australians recognise marriage equality should be enshrined in law.

Society has moved on – and nowhere more dramatically than in Tasmania, which has gone from the last place to decriminalise homosexuality in Australia to the state leading on social issues, especially marriage equality. The Greens’ marriage equality motion on Tuesday next week, followed by a debate on Wednesday, is rumoured to stand a good chance of passing, with Labor making ameliorative noises.

Why? 200 kilos and a handlebar moustache, for a start. What David Foster has done for equality and against discrimination in Tasmania is immeasurably courageous and constructive. Although the man comes across as true gentle giant, as well as articulate and fair, it’s true to say that he’s still not just champion axeman but champion red neck. And, yet, there he is in today’s Mercury, each huge axe-wielding arm around Nick McKim and Rodney Croome. “World champion axeman and patron saint of Tassie red necks touches a gay and a greenie!” He has done Tasmania proud by making discrimination just that bit more socially unacceptable.

But while the other members of the gloriously eclectic panel where literally in Fozzie’s shadow, when each got up to speak, they made just as valid, moving and eye-opening contributions.

First up, Nick McKim detailed the political context of getting marriage equality legislation up in parliament, whether State of Federal. McKim said that the Greens are holding off bringing on their already-tabled marriage equality Bills until around the end of the year, charitably giving Labor (State and/or Federal) the chance to come good. If not, the Bills will be deployed.

Next, Foster lumbered up to the microphone and out boomed a simple message: I’m a dad, I love my daughter. She’s gay. So what? I love her, her partner and their daughter.

But while the message was straightforward, the impact and effect of it coming from Foster is gold dust. To be brutally honest, this simple message – dad, gay daughter, so what?, family, love – is perfect redneck messaging. More seriously, it will help countless ashamed parents and closeted gay children come out and confidently say what Foster has: My child is gay and proud and I’m the proud parent of a gay child. Good on him.

Then came Els, the mother of a gay son – who MC Cassy O’Connor introduced as the mother of a lesbian son, a semi-deliberate icebreaker when the forum kicked off. Els’s speech was quietly brilliant. She was gently spoken, considered and, well, right. Yet the love for her son was strong, almost fierce, and her arguments for marriage equality even stronger, especially coming from such a physically diminutive person. She helped anyone who had not done so empathise with what it is like growing up gay in this world, noting she saw heterosexual couples holding hands in the street, but not gay couples and that some countries still executed people for being gay.

Veteran gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome gave perhaps the next most moving speech. He highlighted a letter to the Mercury from a young gay Tasmanian man who said the injustice of him not being able to marry was not so much what he couldn’t do, but what he couldn’t give. He couldn’t be someone’s husband, someone’s son or brother in law and he couldn’t be someone’s father. Croome also mentioned his 96-year-old aunt Vera, who asked when Croome was going to do the honourable thing and marry his partner. “Well, that’s up to Julia and Tony, I’m afraid,” recounted Croome. “That’s no excuse,” said Vera, via Rodney.

Then came transgender stand-up comedian, Martine, who admitted she may not be a champion axeman but she was the only person in the room who had played men’s and women’s first division football. She made the point that the term ‘marriage equality’ was preferable to ‘same-sex marriage’ because it implicitly included the transgender/intersex people in any marriage equality legislation, in a way the term same-sex marriage obviously couldn’t.

Next up was Barns, who gave the legal context as to why he believes State marriage equality legislation would be valid. Croome agreed, highlighting a letter sent by Senator Guy Barnett, also to the Mercury, where he wrote that “unfortunately, the Greens are right” to assert there is a loophole in the current legislation through which could be driven the rainbow-coloured marriage equality bus – and still might be.

Last, Cassy talked about the importance of love, the common theme of all the panellists’ comments and probably the fundamental reason most people in the room, and beyond it, support marriage equality. She also urged the audience to check out the exhibition on animal homosexuality at Oslo’s Natural History Museum, making clear homosexuality isn’t an aberration but is simply natural.

When the forum took questions from the floor, most were about the legal wranglings over the likelihood of marriage equality being enshrined in law. That was, until Presbyterian pastor and marriage equality opponent, Campbell Markham, got up, when the atmosphere soured. The issue of marriage equality became skewed, as a small number of apparently Christian marriage equality opponents raised the issue of children and their adoption by same-sex couples. Cue: febrile atmosphere.

One revealing aspect of this unwelcome subversion was that it showed some members of the LGBTI community had an instant intolerance towards opponents of marriage equality. Ironic, considering that, for tolerance – or even better, acceptance – to work, it needs to be unconditional and equally applied. And the test of applying acceptance is not so much when we encounter those we agree with but when we encounter those we don’t.

More revealing was the fact marriage equality opponents, particularly of a religious (and usually Christian) persuasion, simply don’t get it. Where is their love? Is God as hung up as them about homosexuality? Aren’t we all sinners? Where’s ‘Thou Shalt Not Judge?’ when it counts?

Religious marriage equality opponents go all Chicken Little at the prospect of marriage equality, forgetting that homosexuality is natural and has been with us as long as heterosexuality, as has same-sex marriage, which has occurred in societies around the world for thousands of years.

Such opponents seem to think homosexuality is something spawned of the Sixties and, if homosexuals would only take a cold shower and pull their socks up, heterosexuality would reign supreme – despite the fact it never has.

Religious opponents also seem to think the ideal of a nuclear family – pipe-smoking dad, homemaker mum and Johnny and Sally playing in the sunny garden – is trope which existed beyond the 1950s and which society must somehow implement. But, of course, families, like life, are messy and some people are gay, including some children. Reality check! Do we want children to grow up in a world of hatred, homophobia and discrimination?

“No!”, was the loud, proud and clear message from yesterday’s forum, which voted about 95% in favour of marriage equality, reflecting numerous polls showing most Australians also support marriage equality and recognise that if two gay guys or two gay girls or a couple of trannies get hitched, it doesn’t diminish the institution of marriage, it strengthens it because more people will be doing it. Birds do it, bees do it, even educated Christian Liberals do it. So let’s make marriage equality law.

And if it doesn’t become law soon, maybe with a bit of cultivation, David Foster will put down his axe, take up a double-shot soy latte and be the Greens’ member of the Legislative Council seat of Murchison. His ticket? Gay rights, of course! He’d have an axe to grind, after all…

Els, mother of a gay son

Martine, a transgender person in a same-sex relationship