Time is ripe for Australia’s Same Sex Marriage

Starting this week, Australians will be treated to bare knuckle campaigns for and against same sex marriage if Government is granted the go ahead by the High Court for survey to go ahead.The question seems all the more perplexing because the Australian government has made its intentions clear to introduce same-sex marriage. That means implementing same-sex marriage is a relatively simple matter in Australia and the ongoing debate against the survey is work of buffoons. There is no marriage clause in the Australian Constitution that requires changing and people should therefore support same sex marriage without a fuss.The answer to why Australia is going to introduce same-sex marriage lies in the way in which the issue has been exploited in Australian electoral politics and this time round Malcolm Turnbull has got it right unlike his predecessors.Maybe in many Australians mind they already made up and they’re just waiting for the ballot to land in their mailbox. Some may not be sure how to answer the question.There’s no way I can fail to appreciate Malcom Turnbull bold and courageous move bearing in mind that just 13 years ago, then-prime minister John Howard introduced legislation banning same sex marriage. As an individual, John Howard belong to the ancient minded conservative Australians who oppose same-sex marriage. In his buffoonery move that was more political with the 2004 elections in mind, his promotion of so called moral and traditional values to wedge socially conservative religious voters away from Labor was archaic.The days when conservative Australians overlooked many gays and lesbians are dead and buried. Time will come when change will transform their brains. Homosexuality has been a part of our lives since we human beings first walked the earth. Same sex people are not the product of a society gone mad nor a sign of an impending apocalypse. Homosexuality people are as human as any other couples, they are loving even more than those non homosexuals we know in this world. John Howard-era legislation banning same-sex marriage was harder to challenge and thanks to Turnbull’s efforts, the era when gay and lesbian activists had to rely on trying to change major party politicians’ views are long gone.

We need moderate conservative leaders in Australia like Turnbull who support same-sex marriage. Australians supporting same-sex marriage on the grounds that it was legitimate for the state and the church to have different policies on marriage in a secular society is one way countries will evolve as part of 21st century relationships dynamics.The proposed survey conscience vote indicates that the separation between religion and the state will now be fully accepted in Australian society. Past government policies had left the question of whom religious organizations should marry, which is clearly an issue of religious conscience, for religious bodies themselves to decide according to their varied beliefs.The political elites residual religious framing is among one of the many reasons same-sex marriage had not yet been supported and implemented in Australia. Even with Turnbull’s effort, it has proved much harder to introduce since as there’s no predominantly constructed same-sex marriage to be seen as an equality issue.For something that can and should be resolved incredibly simply, the hysteria surrounding same-sex marriage is ridiculous and utter nonsense perpetuated by traditional conservatives.Same-sex marriage has become the norm in many Western countries and Australia should follow suit. The more extreme anti-same sex marriage views are expressed in Australia, the more it will significantly harm tourism. Consistent attacks on what the majority of Australians regards as a basic right would undermine Australia’s attractiveness as a tourist destination. For example, Sydney’s Mardi Gras attracts more than half a million people and generates A$35 million in revenue at the minimum. It stupid to deny same-sex marriage isn’t a risk tourism-related economic benefits.In supporting same-sex marriage, Malcolm Turnbull government will help to highlight to the international community that Australia is a welcoming country that will not discriminate based on sexuality and will generate a strong commitment to the world brands, investors, tourists among others that might otherwise be deterred from investing in Australia.