Coach, I resent your implied dismissial of my morality. (And for the record, I am not 20, not that it matters). Amoungst my friends are several people who attend church regularly, some who are fairly strictly catholic, and even they do not have issue with the idea of two men or two women marrying. Perhaps it is you, with your hate filled posts, who should be considering what a moral life really is. I was always under the impression that it was a life where one has compassion for others.

Bosk and Reason...do you really believe that same sex relationships are not harmful to themselves or society? That's breathtaking...

Oh, and Bosk, the benefit to society is providing the best environment for raising children, not paying taxes.

As to your question Reason, every person already has the ability to decide for themselves who inherits their property and who makes decisions for them in the case they are incapacitated. Kind of a pointless question really

To those who fear that same sex couples being given their civil rights, as all Australian citizens should have. May harm their own hetrosexual relationship, gives an indication that their own relationship ain't so scoopy doo!.

Questions have been asked, and not one of you have come back with an objective intelligent response. Its either the bible says this or you bring in the typical tabloid emotional angle of kids, or the put down of your fellow citizens.

By your postings you sound a sad lot of people, thank your god, you don't live next door to us!

Kipp & co.,

Question: What would a gay teacher tell a child when asked : I think I am attracted to another same-sex student?

a. Congratulate him/her and give a book of instruction on how to best have the most fun, safe sex, and never get caught. Plus instruct him/ her on their democratic rights and how to best fefend themselves from anti-gay attacks.

b. Encourage him/her to explore his/her sexuality with as many different partners until they find out for sure which is more "naturally" pleasurable. You don't want to rush to any conclusion yet.

c. Send him to a (non-gay hopefully) school advisor/ principal to get psyched and re-adjusted before it's too late. Plus advise the parents and have the family checked also for possible predetors, sexual history etc...

d. other...?

Grey
Quote"do you really believe that same sex relationships are not harmful to themselves or society? That's breathtaking..."

Allow me to show you why this is a lousy argument. Let's say I assert that christians are harmful to society. I say it again & again. I NEVER provide any evidence though I just assert it as though it were a self evident truth.

Finally you reply "look either present the evidence that supports what you've said or be quiet" I reply "Are you saying christians AREN'T harmful...that's breathtaking" Just another asserttion without any evidence isn't it? That's all you've done.

Now to your second point:
1) If heterosexual couples are allowed to get married because of the benefits they provide in raising children what about those heterosexual couples who are infertile? What about those who choose not to have children? Using your reasoning society shouldn't allow them to marry either. Why? Because such couples don't provide any environment for raising kids.

2) Let's look at two couples. On the one hand we have an alcoholic couple. They emotionally abuse their children. On the other we have two loving homosexuals. Who would provide the most stable loving environment Grey? The homosexuals wouldn't they? So your blanket assumption that all heterosexual couples provide a better environment for raising kids than a homosexual one is totally wrong!

Coach, the 'answers' to your 'question to the teacher' are downright stupid.

Any ethical teacher, straight or gay, would deal with it with sensitivity, tact and depending upon the age and maturity of the student.

If a straight teacher was asked by a student about that attraction to another student, the answer would probably be the same, something like: "Consider what effect it could have on your life", followed by 'if you have to talk to me about this then there would seem to be a problem, I am your teacher, not your counsellor, if you cannot talk with your parents about it, then perhaps you should try to see the school counsellor or I can give you the phone number of kidsline or something similar so you can talk it over with someone you don't have to interact with every day".

This would be the answer given by any ethical teacher, straight or gay. At my school, in the 1970s, we had two teachers who we knew were gay, one was as ethical as you could get, he was not interested in the students as partners at all. We also had another, whom some readers may recognise if I say he taught classics, wore academic robes around the school and drowned himself in a swimming pool just before his trial, who was completely unethical about relationships..

It wasn't that the teacher was gay that mattered, it was how they related to the students. It should also be remembered that far more heetro teachers have been inappropriate with students than gay teachers.

Coach, even you were probably taught by a number of gay teachers who did not let their proclivities get in the way of their ability and dedication to teach.

However, in the same way that I would not like to see hetero teachers display gushingly overt displays of affection in front of their students, I would not like seeing gays do this either. Not because they are gay, I just don't feel comfortable with teachers of any persuasion displaying their private lives in front of students too much.