Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Allowed

Why should Australia legalise gay marriage? Or, in other words, why isn’t gay marriage legalised already? Same-sex marriage is just as humane as opposite-sex marriage. I mean, what is so wrong about it? We as heterosexuals are given many opportunities to get married, divorced, re-married and divorced again, but for people who have chosen to become gay or lesbian, are not even given one chance to do this, which I find absolutely appalling. So that is why I am FOR making same sex-marriage legal in our nation and beyond. People need to stop and realise that instead of focusing on the genders of couples, they should focus on the love that two share, regardless of whether they are two men or two women, because to not allow a couple to get married based on gender is in fact discrimination!

According to The Australian Human Rights Commission, under the federal and state/territory anti-discrimination laws, it is said that ‘no person should be treated less favourably than others because of their age, race, country of origin, sex, marital status, pregnancy, political or religious beliefs, disability or sexual preference’… Is this a false statement made by Australia regarding sex and marital status, because if it weren’t why would they want to ban same-sex marriage? Just because many people have their own issues and opinions and may not agree that same-sex marriage is right, does not mean that gay and lesbian couples should have to suffer a life of happiness. I see it as everyone should be granted the right to love one another no matter who it is.

By not allowing same-sex couples to marry is seen as a form of discrimination, which truly is contradictory to what our country preaches, as most governments are so strong on having anti-discrimination laws such as the one stated before. But why are they not abiding by it? Why are they trying to put a stop to same-sex marriages? The definition of discrimination is ‘unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories or people or things’, so by not giving same-sex couples the opportunity to wed, like heterosexual couples can, really contradicts the equality that this country supposedly stands for. Many might even say that allowing same-sex couples to get married will ruin the sacredness of marriage, but I totally disagree on that one. Marriage is traditionally envisaged as a union between man and woman, but there really is no such thing as ‘traditional’ marriage anymore. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, around 51% of all marriages recorded in Australia ended in divorce, which to me means that by giving same-sex couples the right to get married will not ruin marriage anymore than opposite sex couples.

Also the existence of such discrimination against same-sex couples have greatly increased negative social consequences in Australia, which is evident in the rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Statistics have shown that suicide attempts among gay youth are up to seven times higher than that among their straight counterparts, and growing. Depression and anxiety levels are too increasing in the community by just over eight times higher than mainstream Australia. Sixty per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Australia will also experience verbal and/or other forms of abuse just because of their sexuality, which needs to stop! If the states of Australia are treating the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people as second class citizens, everyone else will too, and it is just not fair! Furthermore, same-sex couples should be allowed the same opportunity as couples of opposite sex to get married and be happy. To decide that a couple isn’t worthy of marriage because they are the same sex is unjust. It simply is no person’s right to argue that same-sex couples will ruin the sanctity of marriage, when heterosexual couples have already done so. For those of you, who are against same-sex couples and marriage, just imagine if years from now one of your family members, best friends or even your own children chose to live an alternate lifestyle and you didn’t agree upon it. Wouldn’t you just want them to be happy…? I know I would!