Message to Guy Barnett: marriage equality supporters won’t be silenced.

Spokesperson for the Save Marriage Coalition, Guy Barnett, wants to silence and marginalise the majority of Tasmanians who support marriage equality by shutting down all debate on the issue. (TT here)

He is against an inquiry to consider the legal and constitutional issues raised by state same-sex marriage laws, even though this will help make the debate more informed, respectful and mature.

He has tried to stigmatise protests against the recent defeat of marriage equality as a “gay lobby hate campaign” on the basis of an unsavoury comment about an MLC on a facebook page, even though supporters of marriage equality endured far worse, far more often.
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/weblog/article/inquiry-not-needed.-mlc-hate-campaign-uncalled-for/

For him the issue of same-sex marriage is resolved and it’s time to forget all about it.

Barnett has a range of likely motives for campaigning against further debate.

If there’s an inquiry it will expose how he and his fellow travellers provided the Legislative Council with flimsy, prejudiced and contradictory legal advice.
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php/article/the-legal-ambush-that-sank-marriage-equality

If the debate continues he will have to answer to both his constituents and Upper House members who genuinely believed him when he said a vote against marriage equality will dispatch the issue forever.

But whatever his motives his little crusade won’t work.

The passion of same-sex couples and our families and friends for marriage equality is increasing all the time. Far from being silenced, the voice of the marriage equality movement will continue to grow. Every time people of the ilk of Guy Barnett engineer a vote against equality we will redouble our efforts. With every new poll it is clear that popular support for reform also continues to grow.

Seen against the backdrop, Barnett’s efforts are an ineffective backlash to an inevitable change.

Indeed, his efforts are self-defeating.

If he convinces the Legislative Council to vote down an inquiry it will deepen community division, expose the constitutional concerns of MLCs to be a cover for prejudice, and disrepute the Council as a house of obstruction rather than a house of review.

His attempt to discredit marriage equality supporters by labeling protest websites “a hate campaign” has increased traffic to those websites, and the petitions and webforms linked to them, by a factor of ten.

A culture warrior like Guy Barnett rides high when he convinces his followers that an issue like same-sex marriage is the moral emergency of the age.

But there will come a point when support for marriage equality finally overwhelms all the misplaced indignation, fear and alarm he has fanned.

At that moment he will be left alone facing a future that condemns him.

To ensure history’s judgement is as well informed as possible, here is a list of state same-sex marriage myths and misinformation Guy Barnett is responsible for. His furphies are taken from a recent letter to the Mercury (10.10.12) and a press release (15.12.12).

Guy Barnett’s myths and misinformation about state same-sex marriage laws

The Same-Sex Bill was flawed because it only provided for second-rate same-sex marriage

This is untrue. Same-sex couples are seeking to have the choice to enter legal marriages, which is exactly what the Same-Sex Marriage Bill allowed. If state same-sex marriages are “second-rate” then by extension marriages under the federal Marriage Act are “second-rate” because that Act only allows for opposite-sex marriages.

The Bill was likely to be unconstitutional, costing taxpayers dearly

This is untrue. Credible legal experts agreed there are good legal arguments for the constitutionality of the Bill, but that it is also not possible to know which way the High Court would vote. Advice which said the Bill was likely to be unconstitutional was generally from those with a pre-existing prejudice against same-sex couples and was not well-reasoned. Similarly, credible experts said the cost of an unsuccessful case against Tasmania would be low, while those with a pre-established bias against same-sex marriages deliberately exaggerated the cost.

Prof George Williams is a “known gay lobby activist”

This is untrue and offensive. Prof George Williams is the nation’s most respected constitutional expert. He does not advocate for marriage equality. He has simply argued that the states can act in this area.

Legal opinion against the Bill outnumbered those in favour by 3 to 1

This is untrue. There were three in favour and three against including a legal opinion from constitutional law expert, Prof Kris Walker, which seems to have been overlooked by some MLCs.

The Prime Minister recently said marriage is a federal matter

This is untrue. The Prime Minister said states cannot amend the federal Marriage Act. This is obvious. Her statement doesn’t change the fact that the states can fill the gaps in federal marriage law, including the recognition of same-sex marriages.

Two thirds of federal parliament said “no” to same-sex marriage

This is true but misleading. Coalition MPs were not allowed a conscience vote. If they had been, the result would have been much closer.

Only 12 of 200 countries have legalised same-sex marriage, meaning 96% are opposed to it

This is true but misleading. Most countries in the world do not allow same-sex marriage but this is because they are deeply intolerant of homosexuality. In more tolerant countries like Australia marriage equality is becoming the norm.

The Legislative Council voted down the Bill 9 to 6

This is untrue. Eight Upper House members voted against marriage equality, just two more than those in favour.

There is a “gay lobby hate campaign” against MLCs

This is untrue and offensive. There is no hate campaign against MLCs. There are actions and internet sites which seek to highlight how MLCs voted. Unfortunately, some unsavoury comments for and against supporters of reform have been posted to these sites. They have been removed.

The gay lobby has called MLCs “dinosaurs, cowards and other rude things”

This is untrue and offensive. These words have not been used by people associated with any gay lobby group. Overwhelmingly the weight of abuse has been against supporters of reform have been labelled “sinners”, “abominations”, “satanic”, “child abusers”, “paedophiles” and “Nazis” among many other insults. Those with a genuine concern about the maturity of the same-sex marriage debate will acknowledge and condemn this abuse of supporters of reform.

The government should be focussing on the economy and jobs, not same-sex marriage

This is misleading. If Tasmania is the first-mover on same-sex marriage it will benefit from a windfall of $100 million and many hundreds of jobs that income will create. By putting forward this legislation the government is focussing on the economy and jobs.

First published: 2012-10-16 12:20 PM