Referendum on gay marriage?

It's a bit controversial, with differing views even within the LGBT community. That is to have a referendum in the Sept federal election, a simple yes or no, as to whether Australia should have marriage equality. 

My first reaction was "Fuck yes, let's have it!". But on closer inspection of the issues involved I'm now saying "Fuck no". At first glance it sounds like an excellent idea, but underneath lurks the same sort of BS that saw the republic referendum a few years back rejected, despite a clear majority of Australians wanting us to be a republic. Howard simply put up a republican model that nobody wanted, and so the opportunity to let go of Britain's apron was missed. That was in 1999, and there's been no further referendum since, and we're still holding on to mother England 14 years  later.

Then there is the reactions of the Christians to the idea of a referendum. The dastardly Australian Christian Lobby has already come out supporting it, along with Fred Nile in the NSW parliament who has long opposed gay rights. He used to pray for rain every Mardi Gras parade, dunno if he still does.

Rev Nile said his Christian Democratic Party had been ''pipped at the post'' by Mr Windsor and had planned to publicly call for a referendum next week.

He told Fairfax Media: ''I think people should decide the issue.

''But the question has to be clear. A question like 'are you in favour of marriage equality?' will confuse some people. I'm in favour of marriage equality – between a husband and a wife.

''The question has to be black and white: Do you agree that homosexuals should be legally married?

''I think the majority of people would vote no if the question was clear.''

Rev Nile said the Christian Democratic Party would man every booth and hand out how-to-vote cards to help those voting no on the issue.

He called on the Catholic and Anglican churches to come in opposition to gay marriage.

Australian Christian Lobby spokesman Lyle Shelton said his organisation would make the case for preserving the traditional definition of marriage. ''This is something that people are very passionate about,'' he said.

In the lead-up to the Labor Party's 2011 national conference, the group collected more than 100,000 signatures on a petition against gay marriage.

He predicted there would be ''every chance'' that a public vote to allow same-sex marriage would be defeated. Read more

Notice how Fred Nile is already trying to frame the question in his own way. Note the use of the word "homosexual" rather than gay or same sex couples. Already there's a subtle ploy there to influence voting. He is a politician after all.

And so why are they so confident that they can get a "no" vote, despite latest polls showing 70% support for gay marriage? Well it's a simple matter of resources. We're talking churches getting behind the effort across the country. The gay organisations there are just can't compete with that, being as they're about providing services and assistance targeted at LGBT people and not running a national add campaign.

So what happens when a media campaign like the churches are envisaging saturates itself into the TV screens and letterboxes of LGBT people? As linked in Rodney Croome's article (I'll get to that in a minute) US studies have shown a direct link between mental illness among LGBT people and media voicing of homophobic views:

Results. Psychiatric disorders defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, increased significantly between waves 1 and 2 among LGB respondents living in states that banned gay marriage for the following outcomes: any mood disorder (36.6% increase), generalized anxiety disorder (248.2% increase), any alcohol use disorder (41.9% increase), and psychiatric comorbidity (36.3% increase). These psychiatric disorders did not increase significantly among LGB respondents living in states without constitutional amendments. Additionally, we found no evidence for increases of the same magnitude among heterosexuals living in states with constitutional amendments.

Conclusions. Living in states with discriminatory policies may have pernicious consequences for the mental health of LGB populations. These findings lend scientific support to recent efforts to overturn these policies. more

These people are already vulnerable, having had to deal with institutionalised discrimination for many years. Christians don't seem to realise the harm they do to such a vulnerable group when they come out with what is little more than delusional Bible thumping.

Rodney Croome of Australian Marriage Equality has come out firmly against a referendum, as much of the LGBT population has. 

Overseas referenda on marriage equality have been exploited by cashed-up, anti-gay groups to conduct fear and hate campaigns against gay people.

We know from US research that in states where there have been marriage equality referenda there is an increase in the level of anxiety, depression and suicide among gay and lesbian people.

The people who suffer the most are young gay people coming to terms with their sexuality.

An Australian referendum would give anti-gay stalwarts such as Fred Nile the biggest megaphone they have ever had.

This is why anti-equality groups are usually the ones calling for a referendum.

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 Either way, supporters of equality will have to raise millions of dollars to fund a pro-equality campaign. 

That's millions that could otherwise be spent on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender support services, community education or any number of other urgent priorities. Read more