Tasmania votes down gay marriage

Got an email from GetUp today about the gay marriage vote in the state of Tasmania. Unfortunately it's been defeated, albeit by only one vote. They've put together a little video about the lead up to it.


 
What struck me though was the PS at the bottom of the email.

PS - On a personal note... 

I don't know what it is to face discrimination. I'm a straight, white man, and about as privileged as they come. But this week, I sat in Tasmania's Legislative Council and listened to hour after hour of politicians talking down the discrimination gay, lesbian and intersex Tasmanians face. I heard them say that same-sex relationships are fundamentally different, and that changing the law won't help change community attitudes. 

Afterwards, a man recognised me on the street. He spat at me and yelled that GetUp and our "poofter mates" are ruining the country. I couldn't shake the pall for hours. I try and fail to imagine what it is to hear that regularly -- let alone to hear it from my father, aunty or friends. 

When that shameful policy was ended today 15 years ago, we heard the same dithering excuses some MLCs used when voting 'no' to marriage equality this week. 

Discrimination in our law feeds discrimination in our hearts. The worst thing about the laws that made homosexuality a crime in Tasmania was not the threat of jail, but rather the constant reality of bigotry endorsed by law. Marriage equality isn't just about marriage. It's about ending discrimination.

There are votes coming up in three states (SA, ACT, & NSW) and so the struggle continues. I of course aren't wanting to get married, but I've stated in conversations that the biggest reason for me to end marriage discrimination is to say to all of society that gay people are equal to everyone else. How can we expect the next generation not to discriminate when the law does?