A referendum on gay marriage would give the scaremongers a platform they don’t deserve, and would serve to spread fear and hate towards the vulnerable, writes Carl Katter.

As someone who has been at the forefront of the marriage equality debate, I can’t support Tony Windsor’s idea of having a referendum on the issue.

Referenda are generally about issues that affect the whole community, whereas marriage equality is about the rights of a minority.

We should be very cautious about putting minority rights to a referendum because of the precedent it sets. As US commentator Rachel Maddow has said about marriage equality referenda in her country:

Here’s the thing about rights. They’re not supposed to be voted on. That’s why we call them rights.

As slow as politicians have been to come around to the idea of marriage equality, at least they have the resources to give the issue due consideration. In fact, that’s what they’re paid to do.

Another problem is that a referendum proposal can be vetoed by the small states. It only needs a majority of people in Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT – with a total of less than 25 per cent of the Australian population – to say “no” and marriage equality will be squashed for a long time to come.

Then there’s the cost of a referendum. I understand Tony Windsor proposed to piggyback a marriage question on to a question about recognising local government. But it would still cost money to develop the marriage question and publicise the cases for and against.

Why spend this money when we have a perfectly good mechanism to decide these issues already? It’s called “Parliament”.

But my biggest concern about a referendum is how opponents of equality will behave. From where I sit, most opponents of equality don’t have a lot of rational arguments left against allowing same-sex couples to marry.

Instead, they often deploy fear tactics. For example, they claim same-sex marriage will lead to polygamy, incest and the end of marriage as we know it, even though this hasn’t happened anywhere which has marriage equality.

I fear a referendum would see this kind of scaremongering given the legitimate public platform it doesn’t deserve.

I’m confident most Australians would vote against fear and hate, and vote for equality. But I also know that public gay-bashing can have a deeply negative impact on young same-sex attracted people, particularly those living in rural areas who are already much more likely than other young people to seriously consider suicide.

I know because I was one of these young people.

It’s not hard for me to imagine how I would have felt if I’d watched a TV ad or read a flyer declaring that my feelings were against God’s plan and my rights were a threat to the nation. It would have been devastating.

From day one in the marriage equality debate, anti-equality groups have pushed for a referendum. They believe that the only thing that can delay equality is fear and hate.

I don’t want to give them that opportunity. I don’t want a show of hands on my fundamental human rights.

Carl Katter is an advocate for human rights and marriage equality.

Author: Carl Katter
Publication: ABC The Drum
Publication Date: April 29 2013