My brother is gay and of course over time I have met many people who are gay. Some of his friends are like family with a few in very long term relationships, some spanning thirty years plus.
Regarding marriage, many hetrosexuals now choose to get married by a celebrant with vows far removed from any Church traditions or etiquette yet they still retain the legal document.
My view is that not many gay people will get married as within their own community, the de facto trend, along with increased secular thinking is increasing, as it is in the mainstream.
However, quite a few, as in other groups, are Christians and would ideally like to sanctify their own relationship and love for onoe another with the Church's blessing. This, along with the legalities that a Marriage provides under the Act, is the main reason why anyone wants to get married although more so, the fun of the engagement, wedding, reception and honeymoon, are also enticements. Gay relationships naturally do not have children which further decreases the need to get married.
That bekng said, my suggestion is for others who are married or have been married is to ask yourself why you individually chose to become married and in the main, these are the same reasons why the gay community would also want the option to become married or have their relationship legally recognised as well.
The primary issue includes the necessary legislative change and whether Australia is ready for such social change but in the meantime I'm all for a civil partnership between same sex couples that provide the couple with the same legal rights as other married couples.
The Church vs State argument, along with associated immigration, welfare, inheritance, taxation complexities etc prevent many first world govts from legislating. The amendments in so many State and C/Wlth laws would be time consuming, costly and take some time to administrate. However, if you think about what legal rights we enjoy in all of the above areas, I don't see why same sex couples cannot benefit from similar laws and I think once anyone nuts this out, the choice for same sex Australian couples to at least have legal relationships akin to marriage becomes an obvious one.
Also, from a pure business angle, given that the general figures are that same sex couples have a much higher discretionary income and attached consumption patterns when compared to the mainstream, the economy would benefit from the celebrations. LOL
Anyway, things are never what they seem but as always, discrimination will eventually disappear - maybe not now, but at some point in the future whenever the country is truly ready. Too much ignorance is still apparent here and right across the globe, with many belief systems being very out-dated where many are still telling people how one should live without truly understanding the complexity of the human condition. Once those who oppose the basic rights and liberty of the individual recognise that being gay is not a choice, it will all become very clear.
