Once again, the homo-hating lobby blurs what is (for rational people with at least half a brain) a very clear distinction homogenital acts (behaviour -- what people DO) and homosexuality (a naturally occurring, unchangeable, unchosen, sexual modality -- what people ARE).

Your puerile debased arguments can be thrown right back at you, BOAZ_David. How many people "would be happy" for their sons/daughters to be friends with a man who gets his kicks from the anus or throat of a woman? Your emphasis on behaviour rather than the actual topic of legally formalised commitment, just shows the paucity of your arguments. Furthermore, I suggest to you that most people, regardless of their views on homogenital acts, would prefer to live next door to a committed same-sex couple than an unmarried one.

BOAZ_David, predictably, raises the spectre of a negative "flow-on effect" but consistently FAILS to plausibly articulate what those consequences are supposed to be. Sheer paranoid nonsense.

I must admit the nature of this debate has truly shocked me, it has made me aware of my own naivety.

It is clear that seemingly intelligent people will construct amazingly elaborate arguments to justify their prejudice, often with the words 'tradition' and 'normal' being thrown around, the cynic inside me suspects the words faggot and lezzos aren’t far from their tip of the tongue.

I just couldn't believe that so many OLO writers are so adamantly opposed to this, I have a loving relationship with my fiancé and I simply do not understand how on earth a couple of blokes down the road who also share that same sort of love have ANYTHING to do with the relationship that I share with my partner. Its simply irrelevant to my life.

In a time where their are so many pressing social and international issues, this is not the time to be getting worked up about this massively insignificant issue, let gay people live the same way heterosexuals do and just get on with our lives.

Leigh - The absence of the regular muslim posters here is a direct reflection upon how they take no notice of our Australian laws and politics. Muslims have their own cultural agenda, and their own legal system that nullifies any “other” local civilization.

We have seen how they’ve attempted recently to introduce their “Sharia Laws”by stelth – and how they have a stupefying disregard for the Australian culture.

As for their homosexuals – they don’t want to know about them yet – because if they did it’s the death penalty of course. And that’s not good PR is it? They don’t want to rattle their chances at a “peaceful” take over of our land while we are all asleep or watching football.

Paranoia? I sure hope so…but the signs and historical records don’t lie.

BL says -

>>…homosexuality (a naturally occurring, unchangeable, unchosen, sexual modality -- what people ARE).<<

I say it’s more what people want to continue to DO.

The first thing you must admit is that you are sick and that you need help. To pretend and believe that homosexuality is “natural” is very controversial, unprovable, and is not helping your cause a bit.

Our children can’t wait to be free enough to drink/ smoke just like other adults... after all it is legal and culturally natural.

Can you see the parallel when children are given a social “choice” instead of a "clinical remedy”?

Carl, we do let same sex couples live out their lives. Since their cause is so insignificant, as you say, they don't need marriage or marriage clones such as civil unions. The traditional, nuclear family should be held up as the ideal for the sake of our children. No hatred here, just plain old common sense!

Coach,

You forgot to mention that violence against gays is also a Christian practice in the middle east. Gay men are stoned and bashed in the streets of Assiut south of Egypt by fellow church goers. The Church of Alexandria ban all sorts of homosexuality as an 'ati-god' behaviour. Intellectual dishonesty is not a good quality.

Iran? I think I need to state something important about oppression in Islamic countries.

In the last year were two young gay teenagers in Iran, that were tied to stakes, had their tongues cut out, eyes gauged out, and had rocks thrown at them, as hundreds of Muslums cheered at them being tortured to death in public. Sad to think, they were 15 or 16 years old, younger than some of the kids that I teach.

I have had to help 2 assylum seekers from Islamic countries to enter Australia who were persecuted by Islamic terrorists. I won't go into details: private I respect that. One was from a large Islamic city, and someone noticed he did have a secret boyfriend.

He lost his job, was publically shamed, and that was the start.

He also loved soccer an was spotted by a well known terrorist in the crowd. The terrorists and their thugs told him that gay people were not welcome, and the whole crowd violently threw rocks at him to leave.

He was courageous, maybe unwise and shouted back that at least he wasn't a terrorist, and denounced Islam: spat in their faces. Then they really got angry.

Then the death threats came, the violence, and the heat esculated to the point where it was obvious that they were going to kill him. He escaped and somehow ended up in Villawood. I can't imagine what it would have been like.

I will never forget the look on his face when he thought that Australia would send him back. To Australia's credit, the Government recognised the persecution and he was released.

I think he will be a decent Australian citizen. Loves Australia, wants citizenship ASAP, and wants a civil union with his boyfriend, also previously Islamic.

This kind of courage, defiance, and detirmination I think, is what makes us Australian, as straight as most of us are. Civil Unions are part of this courage, maybe imperfect, a dream, but what is Australia?