I am a concerned Australian citizen writing to you today, the evening after the election, concerning marriage equality.
Now whilst you are all sitting back, some with relief at being re-elected, some spitting chips at losing, and some hanging in the balance, I ask you take time to think of how we, the Australian public think of marriage equality.
You see, gentleman and (a small number of) ladies, it is just not possible to hurt us like we can hurt you (a huge voter backlash, so to speak). We remember words that hurt us, words that offend us, words that make us feel lesser of a person, but more so, we
remember. On that note Bernadi and Christensen can thank their lucky asses they got back in to the Parliament (unfortunately) but still, maybe next time if they don’t improve, they might not be so lucky next time. Three years, boys.
Lots of issues got tossed about between all parties, and we read them all, if not most of them (hint, Mr Turnbull, leave our Medicare alone, cancel the team investigating the privatisation of any of it and back off from hurting the most vulnerable).
Mr Turnbull, let me say this to you as a voter, I did not and will never condone, or accept being made to feel like a lesser human being than you make us feel like, I deplore and despise the way you have made some of us feel as people and I hope I can speak for a lot of pensioners out there to say I don’t accept your attitude towards us.
It is not Labor’s fault or anybody else’s that got you a huge backlash against your LNP, it was you treating us like sheep and expecting us to just trust you and follow you.
Marriage equality is important to most Australian citizens and whether you like it or not, we did not swallow your random crap about being a respectable referendum/plebiscite at all. We have lived enough with hatred, bigotry, despicable behaviour, intolerance, violence, and other people telling us how we should and should not be and who we should and should not love. Three prime examples are Christensen, Bernadi and Lyle Shelton. Look at what they said about marriage equality, yet as a leader, our Prime Minister you did nothing, said nothing, and let them get away with it. You had no balls, Mr Turnbull, to reprimand them.
Now to the rest of you politicians I ask you kindly, please take some time, to ask yourself honestly and candidly, how you can help make Australia better and fairer and take us (advance us) to the future regarding marriage equality.
We do not seek anything but the right to marry the one we love and be united with the one that makes us happy, regardless of our gender.
I ask all of you these questions:
How will marriage equality directly influence your life and how you live?
How will marriage equality directly or indirectly effect your lifestyle and beliefs?
How will two people marrying each other (out of love and togetherness as a couple) effect any part of your life?
How will being able to marry someone you love be any different for anyone else?
How will you know who is and is not a good parent to their children if you don’t know them or live with them or even remotely know who they are and where they live?
How can you justify a fake book and it’s fake passages to defend something that in reality does not exist?
How can you, any of you, degrade another person based on just their sexuality and love preferences?
Are you a god or better than a god?
I know full well what it is like to lose a partner in death. I know full well how something so terrible can tear your mind to pieces. I know full well how being despised, hated, bashed, almost murdered, brought close to death feels. I know what it is like to walk down the street and people spit in your faces because you hold hands or threaten you if are seen kissing your partner. I know what it feels like to be hated and made to feel worthless and dirty. I know what it is like to get raped, and not be believed. I know what it is like to be torn apart inside. I know all of this because I have experienced this, lived it, felt it, been the victim of it and I still am because people like Bernadi, Christensen, Shelton, and others of their ilk, often do so without fear of retribution or punishment from the law or our own government leader, aka the prime minister.
Place yourselves in my shoes and ask yourselves, how long could you survive all that mental stuff and still stand up and forgive? If I have felt and feel like this, imagine how the rest of the LGBTIQ community feel or have experienced?
We are not asking much, just the right to marry our partners, be a family in peace and love and be treated like a normal couple, just like yourselves.
We do not need to be persecuted or hated or despised or to be made to feel like we are nothing, we just want the right to be happy with our partners in full equal marriage, like a heterosexual couple can be.
If that is so wrong, then please, have your damn plebiscite. But we prefer the people we elect to do the job which is not that hard to do and change it through the act of parliament with a free vote. John Howard did it, why can’t you or you just want to waste money of the taxpayer on something you know is worthless and a waste of time.
Yours in waiting,
Concerned Citizen
