There will probably be an number of justifications posted on this site in favour of the prohibition of same-sex marriage. I'd like to know why these people would prefer a gay man to marry a straight woman (deceiving her and possibly himself) over same-sex marriage.

Because that is exactly one of the consequences of the delegitimisation of gay relationships. Support groups for straight women (and men) whose spouses turned out to be gay are testimony to the havoc these sort of marriages wreak for all concerned.

And I'd also like to know why the anti-gay crowd assert that homosexuals are a tiny minority and then contradict themselves by saying same-sex marriage would threaten marriage generally.

Anyway, if your marriage is threatened by the possibility of two men or two women tying the knot then maybe you shouldn't be married after all. You're probably not mature enough and you're too preoccupied poking your nose into the business of gay couples.

Sorry to disappoint you David, but......

The only legitimate position I can see to opposing gay marriage is the one from the Church. I mean it's their party and if they don't want to invite you that's up to them. I know you're banned because the Bible says God doesn't like practising homosexuals, but then why did God make them like that? I understand that some say that people choose to be homosexual, but really.... can anyone seriously believe that? If you're naturally attracted to the opposite sex, why would you force yourself to be otherwise? It's not like changing from spray-on to roll-on. The sex urge is a very powerful thing and the idea of kissing a man makes whatever meagre sex urges I can muster up these days disappear quicker than BOAZ at the Madi Gras.

But seeing we live in such a secular society I can't see a problem with gay people getting married and having the same rights and entitlements as everyone else. I'm sure gay couples want to get married for the same universal reasons, to show love and commitment to each other. I feel uncomfortable with the thought that the love a gay couple has is somehow a degraded or inferior kind of love.

I'm sure our society won't fall apart if we gave same sex couples the same tools to work with as the rest of us, (no pun intended).

There are a few things which need to be examined here...

Homosexuality is a choice...

Consider this. If homosexuality was NOT a choice, then why didn't the gene/s responsible die out. One would think that after generations of peoples, the gene responsible would simply cease to exist!

Re Marriage...

I'm fairly certain it is only a minority of the gay/lesbian community which really wants marriage in Australia? Thus, there is a minority within a minority. I don't think that Australia should, for the sake of a small number of people, extend the special bond of marriage to homosexual couples. As I recall, only 2% of Australia's population (20,000,000) identify as being homosexual/bisexual. I wonder then how many within that small percentage would want marriage?

Marriage (2)...

Marriage predated Christianity and it is a bond that signifies one man and one woman's committment. Furthermore, marriage of 1 man and 1 woman provides a safe and stable environment for children to grow up in. Psychological studies have shown that children who are raised by homosexual couples are more likely to be teased at school.

Inequality...

Inequality is not some modern day social construct. It is pure reality. Is a child at 5 years of age equal in development, language use, social skills etc to an 18 year old? Of course not. If we were to end all equality, we would allow children to do everything an adult could do. Put simply, that would be a disaster.

Discrimination...

Discrimination, like equality, is part of life. I discriminate in buying a chocolate bar instead of jubes. I discriminate when talking to one person and not another standing nearby. Thus discrimination can be a positive thing. It could also be negative. I would certainly not want to see a homosexual man or woman being abused in the street, for instance. That in my view, is real, negative discrimination.

Part 2 of my post::::

Homosexual relationship stability...

Many studies have shown that homosexual couples have very unstable relationships. I'll concede, they may be loving, but not particularly stable. And yes, in case you're sitting back thinking "what about normal marriage, isn't that just as unstable?" well yes, you would be correct, to a degree, normal marriages are also unstable at times. But to me, that is why we should be trying to improve the status of heterosexual marriage through lobbying the government for lower taxes and other economic benefits which will assist families to perhaps be a bit happier.

Discrimination (2)...

If discrimination was inherently wrong, why should we prevent a man marrying his horse? I'm not kidding! There was a case recently, where a man wanted to marry his pet horse. After all, who would deny they could have a loving relationship? Logically, this question has to be asked. What path then are we heading down if we were to allow homosexuals access to marriage? Logically we would have to open marriage up between any two items, living or dead. I'm not accusing homosexuals here of wanting to marry animals or inanimate objects or that they deserve that status. I'm just trying to illustrate that logically this sort of thing could be the conclusion.

Is it natural?..

Indeed, until the 1970s, psychiatrists were treating homosexuality as a disorder and were assisting homosexuals to learn new behaviours and discard homosexual traits. Furthermore, homosexuality has been linked, in males, to boys not having an adequate father role model. It is really a sad indictment on our society and other societies around the world, that fathers are so commonly disregarded, whether by feminists in government departments, judges in Family Court and today, even in the education system.

Finally, in saying what I have said, above, I wish to make it perfectly clear that I DO NOT hate homosexuals. Their sexual acts I do not agree with, as is the case also with the social agenda they are sponsoring.

My Dear Friends Down Under:

I am an American, and I agree that George W. Bush is sticking his nose in, and influencing your policy. My Aussie friends and customers have told me ALL about it.
I have always had a special place in my heart for Australia. I stumbled on your website and I love it. George is using this issue to get his party elected again and again. (Remember the differences between our and your system. I like yours better for the record!) Dinahan, please get a clue about the realities of being a despised member of a minority. People like you are a dime a dozen here in the US, and you would not believe the ugliness and bitterness of the political agenda against gays. Kids raised by gay parents may be teased, but so will ones by fat, jewish, ugly, stupid, interracial, etc. I was teased for being protestant (an unfortunate, immoral choice made by my parents):) and fat. I got over it. Discriminination against gays and inqeuality cannot be compared to chocolate bars or being 5 years old.

I think an important issue raised in this article is the question of legal rights. If two people live together, pool their resources, perhaps one is financially dependant on the other, if one dies without a will their partner automatically receives the estate - there exist legal rights and obligations, tax and investment benefits for couples AS LONG AS THEY'RE STRAIGHT.

There is a human rights argument here that gay couples are discriminated against and cannot easily access the rights that other couples enjoy.

Howard has attempted to legislate a 'moral' law that is only a law to a certain part of the community. I'm straight, I live in a democracy, I want everyone here to have equal access to justice, whether they be a person of colour, living with a disability, an immigrant, a man, a woman, or homosexual.

And Dinahin, the gene pool is larger than your comrehension of the biology of genetics. Homosexuality is not a choice! Otherwise, who would choose to be gay in this world.