It’s inevitable, and we know it.
Gay marriage will be legalised in Australia, maybe not before the cock crows thrice, but certainly in the near future.
Opposition is entrenched in the influential nooks and crannies of our society like the whiff of something off in the back of the fridge.
But tolerance is like flowing water; not impressive at first, but it has a wearing effect that is ultimately irresistible.
The issue is equality. If people want to get married they should.
If the churches don’t recognise it, well and good, but it should be recognised legally.
And let’s not forget that the churches have not exactly been at the vanguard of tolerance and equality.
It is not so long ago couples from the opposing Christian schisms were not welcome in each other’s churches, nor were divorcees hoping for a better marital outcome second time ‘round.
The phrase “wrong side of history” gets a good run these days but it seems apt here.
Marriage might be between a man and a woman, but there is no reason that cannot be amended to eliminate what is basically enduring bigotry against a significant portion of the community.
Just like the front bar of hotels was once a thing between a publican and a white male.
It changed. Just like forced adoptions. It was the way of things, and now it’s not.
Just like driving drunk, or flogging kids or leaving the guard off the lathe or lead in petrol or littering or semi-automatic rifles or land-clearing or putting the hard word on the secretary or dumping sewage into the river.
No archangel descended from on high and smote anyone.
The passage of time, and the forces of modernity, and the relentless pressure of quiet good sense pushing against the entrenched way of things eventually prevailed for the better.
The same will apply to climate change, where opponents have largely retreated to the musky lettuce crisper argument of “adapting”.
Like New Orleans adapted to Katrina. Like Victoria adapted to Black Saturday.
The same straw man arguments are used to justify the exclusion of same sex couples from this aspect of our existence that is of great importance and pleasure to not just betrothed couples but their families and friends.
Like the apology to the stolen generation was to unleash a farcical torrent of legal action and compensation which never eventuated, so gay marriage is predicted will undermine the bedrock of society somehow.
It will undermine the institution of marriage, we are told, and lead to extreme examples we don’t want to spoil our morning by repeating here.
Granting gay couples the same rights as the rest of us in wedlock represents not only a just and reasonable reform, it would be a nice thing to do.
And to wilfully withhold from doing a nice thing for somebody on specious grounds that really don’t bear much scrutiny is a pretty shitty thing to do, let’s be honest.
If the fear for wedlock’s future is genuine, however, then surely it says more about the vulnerability of the institution in its current form.
For the last word on the end-of-the-world scenario I borrow from a speech by New Zealand MP Maurice Williamson following that country’s passing of gay marriage legislation in April this year.
“The sun will still rise tomorrow.
“Your teenage daughter will still argue back to you as if she knows everything.
“Your mortgage will not grow.
“You will not have skin diseases or rashes, or toads in your bed.
“The world will just carry on.
“So do not make this into a big deal.
“This bill is fantastic for the people it affects, but for the rest of us, life will go on.”
Finally, in response to what he said was alarmist opposition from religious figures in his local electorate in the lead up to the parliamentary vote, he offered the following biblical quotation.
It is from Deuteronomy 1:29: “Be ye not afraid.”
Tony Webber is happily married.
Author: Tony Webber
Publication: The Dubbo Weekender
Publication Date: May 4, 2013