I am most concerned where in these days, of dare I say it, shocking egalitarianism, young ladies of breeding and refinement, are, heaven forbid, marrying outside their social class! Just the other day, whilst at croquet, I was distressed, nee mortified, to be informed of a young eligible thing from a most respectable Tookak family, of substance, banking I believe, has been betrothed to one, who I can only describe as being of the roughen socially undesirable order, no less. I believe a butcher chap from Moonee Ponds, shocking indeed! Not that I have anything against butcher chaps, besides, who else is there to prepare a nice cut of my favorite eye fillet. Without the butcher, dare I say it, we could all be reduced to eating, sausages or something even more ghastly, minced meat, oh the thought.
Naturally, it goes without saying both the young lady in question, and he mom's membership of The All Tookak Croquet Club has been terminated forthwith, and I duly expect daddy will be "persona non gratas" no less, at the golf club. Next thing you know we will be subjected to one of those tradesmen's vehicles, possible a Datsun, parked in a Tookak driveway, in the very spot where the Bentley once resided! Disgraceful in the extreme. This practice has to stop, otherwise society as we know it will simply cease to exist!

Oh, the horror, Paul1405! And what of the children? Are they rich? Are they poor? Are they new money? Old money?

Now, when children see two people of different social classes together, we're going to have to explain sex to them in graphic detail.

Soon enough, people will want to start marrying their carriages!

Is there no such thing as decent society anymore?

It seems that many people seem to have a clear idea
of how other people should lead their lives -
viewing their own patterns of marriage, family,
and kinship as self-evidently right and proper, (and
usually as God-given as well).

They assume that there is only one "right" family and
marriage form, and of course they naturally interpret any
change as heralding the doom of the whole institution.

What they fail to recognise is that there already exists
an immense range of marriage, family, and kinship patterns.
I won't go into an analysis of family patterns. Enough to
say that many
people's entire way of thinking about marriage has changed.
It is now viewed less as an economic arrangement or a kinship
alliance, and more as a companionship based on the
emotional commitment of two individuals. In industrialised societies,
traditional family patterns have given way to others that
are better adapted to the changed conditions of social and
economic life.

I personally believe that politicians should be allowed a
conscience vote on the issue and as for the public - a Referendum
would be a good way to let the country decide what it wants.

Foxy, the examples you give do not identify what life long commitment is to family. You a lot of PC nonsense.

You said,"It is now viewed less as an economic arrangement or a kinship
alliance, and more as a companionship based on the
emotional commitment of two individuals. In industrialised societies,
traditional family patterns have given way to others that
are better adapted to the changed conditions of social and
economic life."

Business partners fulfil your view of marriage in that definition.

Ponde,

"No one is going to insist that it be made legal for churches to marry them."

Not until after the Marriage Act is changed, then the push will be for "true equality" and church marriages, especially in the Roman Rite of Catholicism.

There was a report on the ABC that discrimination against homosexuals was on the rise; I wonder why as we're told that the majority of Australians favour SSM?

Paul, old chap,

You are after missing the point, with the price of meat these days the butcher will buy a Bentley for himself and not one of those pseudo Bentleys that they make these days, but a genuine Derby one; if necessary he will have it restored to original.