Why do politicians seem to be at odds with the public over gay marriage? Gary Tippet investigates.
VERNON Routley leans back on a bench in Ringwood, rubs his chin and ponders a question lately vexing our parliamentarians: same-sex marriage, for or against? ”If you’d asked me 30 years ago, I suppose I’d have said I was against it,” admits the 85-year-old. ”Now though, neutral.”
Of course, he adds, 30 years or more back an old gentleman taking a break from his shopping wouldn’t likely be interrupted by a stranger raising such a topic. ”Anyone asking that particular question 60 years ago probably would have wound up in jail on some charge – of indecent something-or-other,” he says with a smile. ”But things have changed markedly in my time. The social environment, the social changes in the last 60 years have been fantastic.”
