Hate leaflets kill

Remember this during the federal election?

Rodney Croome of Australian Marriage Equality has written a very strong piece in regards particularly to this leaflet. 

It's hard to explain the sheer offence that I feel when looking at that. I feel disgust and anger. It's also hard to comprehend what is going through a teenager's mind who's struggling with his sexuality, when they look at that. They must feel terrible pain and abandonment by society.

Croome does not mince his words (pun intended):

The important lesson from the election arises from the anti-marriage equality leafleting campaign in a dozen or more electorates aimed at Labor and Liberal candidates alike. 

The campaign featured unhappy children asking for a mum and dad; the implication being that same-sex couples marrying would hurt children, the aim being to stir up as much fear and hostility as possible. 

You don’t have to be familiar with the scientific literature on the direct link between the denigration of same-sex relationships and mental ill-health to know how damaging this kind of hate is. 

This week, next week, or in the weeks after, a young person somewhere in Australia will kill themselves because of those leaflets. 

A referendum on marriage equality will increase this hate and horror a hundred-fold. 

No matter which side of the debate you are on, if you really care about the well-being of young people you will not support giving homophobia the biggest megaphone it has ever had. more

Well he would see a lot more and know a lot more about the subject than me. I have to agree with him. This is exactly why we shouldn't have a referendum.