So where does the Australian public stand on gay marriage? The question floated about last week, as the Howard government’s Marriage Act, affirming the exclusively heterosexual nature of the institution, reached an itchy seven years. And those who know precisely where they stand put their convictions on colourful display and invited the public to make a choice. Given compromise isn’t possible on this issue – you can’t be a little married, just as you can’t be a little bit pregnant – whose camp would you rather be in?
The equal love rally in Melbourne last Saturday featured drag queens, placards outing Bert and Ernie, and several speeches, including one from the National Union of Students’ ”Queer Officer”. On Tuesday in Canberra, a protest by the National Marriage Coalition heard from an American conservative commentator who warned that gay marriage was the thin edge of a wedge leading to the legitimisation of polygamy and paedophilia, from federal independent Bob Katter who lamented the lost innocence of the word ”gay” and from Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce who said his four daughters would be affected if same-sex marriage was allowed.
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