AME Campaign Co-ordinator, Rodney Croome, responds to a recent article by David Novak arguing that marriage the state has no authority to “redefine” marriage to include same-sex couples. Croome argues it is actually Novak who seeks to redefine marriage.
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It is inevitable that the global debate on allowing same-sex couples to marry has generated an intersecting debate on what marriage is for. Only by determining the purpose of marriage, can we decide if same-sex partnerships fulfil that purpose.
David Novak’s contribution to this debate is a comprehensively-stated case for excluding same-sex couples because they cannot fit what he deduces marriage ought to be. Novak’s case is important in the Australian context because almost all the serious-minded opponents of marriage equality in this country espouse some part of his thesis.
The Catholic Bishops share Novak’s belief that marriage pre-exists the state and cannot be changed.
Many Protestant pastors agree with Novak that marriage is fragile and vulnerable and should not be changed.
Like Novak, most of Australia’s marriage equality opponents believe marriage and same-sex relationships are chalk and cheese, and pine for a largely mythical and sometimes frightening past when marriage was what they want it to be.
For the full article, click here
For the original article by David Novak, click here