The Same Sex Marriage (SSM) issue is right before Australians with the national postal survey front and centre. Here is cursory list of strange things —
Qantas claims supporting SSM is based on a business model, with the legitimate figure of less than .08% of Australians engaged in homosexual relationships — viz — Australians engaged in Baptist Church life is 2.7% — does Qantas have a business model for Baptists?
The legal fraternity have had to claw their way back from their SSM statements. Viz — too many legal eagles objected to such blatant collectivism
Coopers Beer was hit on the head for their support of the Bible Society with a cordial debate by two liberal politicians on SSM — viz — a wakeup call to the power of LGBTI political hard hitting
Tasmania's Catholic Archbishop pulled over anti-discrimination coals for his pastoral letter on Catholic teaching on homosexual issues — viz — the nation began to wake up
Grand-slam Tennis champion Margaret Court and now a Perth Pastor is vilified because of her stance for traditional marriage — viz — huge support for Margaret Court while the abuse becomes evident
A Tasmanian Labor Senator makes a stand against SSM with threats against her — viz — Labor panics saying the Senator has every right to her view
A Sydney University traditional marriage seminar is cancelled — viz — universities now illustrate a great fear of freedom of speech
I could go on and on and on … these are in the news day after day ...
What's happening?
Paul Kelly in The Australian on the 27th September spelt out the legal issues with the SSM laws being changed without careful protections.
Here are some salient points:
62 per cent majority wants religious beliefs protected — yet this obvious nexus is most unlikely to be achieved. The Yes camp declares such warnings are a red herring, an unjustified scare, an egregious tactic without substance, and tells people not to worry. The Yes camp has nothing to say about the actual argument — it simply refuses to engage in the issue.
He says a tolerant and rational response from the Yes camp would be to say: “OK, let’s legislate on the basis of religious freedom protections.” What could be more obvious? Among the litany of bills proposed in federal parliament in recent years, none ever attempted to address religious freedom issues for individuals and institutions.
Paul Kelly asks — What should happen now? The principles governing a bill to guarantee freedom of belief and religion should be advanced and put on the public table. Constitutional expert George Williams, a supporter of a bill of rights, says: “Public debates and policy discussions are not informed by legal structures and standards that ensure freedom of religion and belief given the status in Australian society that it deserves.”
He cites Patrick Parkinson, warns about “deep hatred” towards people of faith and says such laws are necessary “to protect people from discrimination on account of whatever views they may hold about marriage” — for or against same-sex marriage — and that protections should cover employment, contracting, academic, trade and professional qualifications, accommodation, education and administration of federal laws and programs.
Paul Kelly says such a proposal would reveal the true character of the Yes campaign. It would test the pivotal question: why is so much of the Yes case so profoundly hostile to religious freedom protections? What are its real motives? Claims it's about gay marriage are intellectual fraud. They are designed to deliberately mislead. The real issue is about competing rights. In essence, it is about how our nation will manage and reconcile competing rights. It is about whether same-sex marriage will be legalised with or without the loss of other rights.
He affirms Australia is not going to be transformed by having a few hundred or a few thousand gays get married. But it is going to be transformed by legalising same-sex marriage in a framework where religious protections are weak and where the ongoing campaign for gay rights and transformed norms in our society is designed to further weaken the freedoms attached to individual liberty and religion, some of the most vital freedoms we possess.
What does all this mean?
Should the SSM go ahead 'without' the safe guards as spelt out by Paul Kelly, we as a nation are in trouble. I saw where Government experts have acknowledged that at minimum 25 laws will be required to be changed should a SSM bill get passed.
The education system will change. Every child will be indoctrinated that SSM relationships are as legitimate and normal as is traditional marriage. The rest of it follows – fluidity of gender, resulting in massive increase in dangerous and irreversible sex change surgery, the removal of parental rights to decide what their children are taught with reference to sex education, the silencing of anyone who dissents from LGBT ideology (freedom of speech restricted).
The overseas illustrations are many where these very things have happened — business closed, freedom of speech curtailed, schools closed, fines, imprisonment and the rest of it.
Many of the LGBTI community have come out in support of the existing laws which give them equal legal rights to property, superannuation and the like, now they too are very worried on the other pro-ported agendas.
I have voted 'no'. My support of traditional marriage is on my Facebook. I am entitled to my voice. We have lived in the same house for almost 12 years. We travel away a great deal on mission. We have good neighbours. When home, only recently, we lost four 6” hub caps — they had allen key screws which were ignored. The local Ford spare parts man said the four hub caps were ripped off as the sllen key mechanism was left and damaged. Instead I was able to get the centre hub caps which mind-you in the norm for most cars today.
The car is sparingly driven to the post office and a few local trips, not much else. I can only imagine who might have ripped off those hub caps with such intent.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
Dr Mark Tronson - a 4 min video
Chairman – Well-Being Australia
Baptist Minister 45 years
- 1984 - Australian cricket team chaplain 17 years (Ret)
- 2001 - Life After Cricket (18 years Ret)
- 2009 - Olympic Ministry Medal – presented by Carl Lewis
- 2019 - The Gutenberg - (ARPA Christian Media premier award)
Gutenberg video - 2min 14sec
Married to Delma for 45 years with 4 children and 6 grand children