I voted Yes for marriage equality

Today I voted Yes in the Australian postal survey for marriage equality. It was an easy decision. Quite simply, love is love, this is a matter of fundamental human equality, and the details of other people’s love for each other is none of my business.

Is it OK to vote “no” as the naysayers’ slogan goes? Of course, because everybody is free to vote as they choose.

But it is not OK to base your decision on misleading allegations about the ill-effects on children of same-sex parenting, curbs on religious freedoms, or fears about the follow-on effects (to name a few). All of these claims have been refuted in a number of places, if you care to look. Many countries have already accepted marriage equality and those fears have not materialised there.

Do the people making dire claims about the effects of marriage equality really believe the things they say, given their dubious veracity, or is there some underlying, unexpressed reason? I think they actually find ‘non-standard’ sexuality at least unsettling and probably repulsive.

I think there is a spectrum of views from dislike (I won’t do that) to disgust (I don’t like to think about that) to disapproval (I don’t want you do that). Disapproval is a moral judgement about other people’s behaviour. And moral judgement invites people to extend their views about what is, and is not, their own business.