ENDEAVOUR FORUM NEWSLETTER No. 116, OCTOBER 2004

 

 

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THE MARRIAGE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL  2004

Bill Muehlenberg

 

Both of the  Government's Marriage Amendment Bills  passed  the House of Representatives. However, the first version,  which also included a ban on overseas adoption by homosexual  couples, was referred by the Senate to an Inquiry.  The second simplified   version of the Bill which dealt only with defining marriage, was not dealt with by the Senate.    It is important that  everyone write to the Senators in their own states asking them to support the Government Marriage Amendment Bill.  Helpful information  below.  

QUICK FACTS ON MARRIAGE

  1. v    Almost every culture throughout human history has had a recognizable form of marriage.
  2. v    Marriages existed even before states acknowledged or regulated them.
  3. v    Marriage is both a public act and a social institution.
  4. v    Marriage is not just a purely private or personal arrangement.
  5. v    The institution of marriage has always had two main purposes: A public recognition and regulation of human sexuality between a man and a woman and  a socially recognised means by which children are brought into the world and cared for.
  6. v    Marriage has always been about a sexual relationship between one adult man and one adult  woman.
  7. v    Marriage discriminates: 7 year olds cannot marry; three men cannot marry; a brother and a sister  cannot marry.
  8. v    Marriage confers tremendous benefits to the rest of society, so societies have always conferred  benefits upon married couples.
  9. v    Married couples are subject to special favors because they bring to society special responsibilities.
  10. v    Other types of relationships are just liaisons.
  11. v    Many others want the benefits of marriage without the corresponding duties and obligations.
  12. v    Marriage is not just about love between people. Love can exist outside of a marriage: a brother can love a sister, a son can love a father, a girl can love a cat. But marriage is a special kind of love: a life-long commitment, publicly acknowledged, with the possibility of procreation.
  13. v    Love does not keep a marriage together; it is marriage that keeps love together.
  14. v    When we demean or trivialise the idea of marriage, it makes it harder for individual marriages to last the distance.
  15. v    In some ways marriage is a fragile institution which needs constant social support and assistance.
  16. v    That is, while women tend to naturally bond with their offspring, men need more help bonding with their wife and their children. Marriage provides that help.

 

Homosexual “marriage”

By equating any and all types of liaisons with marriage, we effectively abolish both the idea  and the meaning of marriage. The same arguments used to justify same-sex marriages can be used to justify polygamy, incest,  bestiality, group sex, and so on. Once the fundamental idea of marriage as one man and one  woman is tossed out, any and all types of sexual activity become permissible. Homosexuals comprise a very small portion of Australian society, and homosexuals who want to  marry make up an even smaller number. The real aim of campaigning for same-sex marriage is the symbolic approval and social  recognition of the homosexual lifestyle. Most homosexuals admit that their understanding of marriage differs from the normal heterosexual understanding, with the willingness to allow extra-marital sexual outlets.

 

THE FACTS ON SAME-SEX ADOPTION RIGHTS

  1. v    It is abundantly clear from the social science research that children are best served when raised  with their biological mother and father.
  2. v    For the best outcomes for children, no other parenting combination comes close to that of the  mother-father union cemented by marriage.
  3. v    No one has a "right" to children.
  4. v    Every child has a right to a mother and a father.
  5. v    A child needs a father, not just "male role models".
  6. v    A child needs a mother, not just "female role models".
  7. v    A child needs to see how men and women interact and relate to each other on a daily basis.
  8. v    Long-term homosexual relationships tend to be very rare.
  9. v    In contrast, heterosexual relationships have a much better record of permanency.
  10. v    Most homosexual relationships allow for other partners and/or other sexual outlets.
  11. v    In contrast, heterosexual liaisons involve fewer outside partners and fewer outside sexual contacts.
  12. v    The fact that heterosexual relationships may not always last, or may not always be faithful, does not mean we should further harm our children by including homosexual couples.
  13. v    Two wrongs do not make a right.
  14. v    Studies purporting to show that children do OK when raised by same-sex parents have been criticised for many methodological shortcomings.
  15. v    Studies also exist showing the harm children experience when raised in same-sex households.
  16. v     
  17. v    These studies also show that children raised in same-sex households are more likely to become  homosexual themselves.
  18. v    The rights of children should always come ahead of the desires and whims of adults.
  19. v    Children should not be treated as guinea pigs in grand social experiments.
  20. v    Many other groups are denied adoption rights: those who are too young or too old, those  with criminal records, etc.
  21. v    The family unit of mother-father-child has been the norm throughout human history and should not  be jettisoned for  radical alternatives.
  22. v     For the sake of our children, we should reject same-sex adoption rights.

 

 

Bill Muehlenberg is National

Vice-President of the

Australian Family Association. 

Full documentation of the above points is available from the author. 

Ph: (03) 9326 5757.

 

 

 

 

 

Member Organisation, World Council for Life and Family

NGO in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the UN