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I watched the American news reports with interest as last week the laws enabling same-sex marriage were overturned by popular vote.

It's amazing how in a world where we have come so far in regards to equality, that this fight is still going on. Even more amazing is that at the moment, it's a fight that's being lost.

In yesterday's blog I made mention of Australia's multi-culturalism. Once again I'll say that this is a nation that has welcomed, with open arms, people from almost every culture and civilisation around the world.

Yet in spite of this, we still have so many aspects of our culture that are steeped in that British origin of modern Australia. Including our concept of marriage and family.

We don't live in 1901 any more! It's the 21st century, and humanity has moved forward over the past one hundred years or so. Women now have the right to vote, Aboriginals are not second-class citizens and we're no longer "White Australia".

But yet in spite of all this progress, a large part of society still has difficulty in acknowledging the equality of people based on their sexuality. A large amount of people still are unable to accept that a homosexual relationship is just as valid as that between a heterosexual couple.

Now no one expects change to come over night. Every step towards equality has been a fight; but we're slowly starting to get there.

Interestingly enough, though, on Monday November 9, The Mercury reported on the number of weddings that are being performed in a church against civil ceremonies. According to the article¹ almost 3 times as many couples have been wed in civil ceremonies over religious weddings in 2009.

Why do I bring this up? Well, perhaps one of the biggest arguments against same-sex marriage is that of the religious connotations. Religion tells us that marriage is a union before God between a man and a woman. What we're seeing, though, is that religion is becoming less of an influential force when it comes to this legal recognition of a couple's commitment to one another.

Stay with me here.

Our foundational laws are originally based in Christian tradition. Western Civilisation, as far forward as it has come and as much as it proclaims a separation of Church and State is still dominated by that religious foundation that it was built upon.

Certainly, many of the laws that come from that foundation are beneficial to society; however, the dominance of religion in the law is on its way to an end.

Australia may be, according to the legislation, a Christian nation. However we are a multi-cultural society, and in practice, that Christian foundation has all but fallen by the wayside. It's one more reason to be proud to be Australian - we're free. People in Australia are free to practice their beliefs and cultures without prejudice.

However the fact that we refuse to legally recognize same-sex marriage is a black mark on that record of freedom. The legal definition of marriage is based still in those Christian origins - yet almost three quarters of weddings are not based around religion!

Another argument that I heard recently made my mind boggle. It was the argument that legalizing same-sex marriage would take away from the rights of married heterosexual couples!

Of course, the actual invasion on "rights" was never explained. I'd like to know how granting rights to same-sex couples takes anything away from anyone else.

Perhaps one of the biggest problems that we have in this issue, though, is the fact that there are so many different definitions of a relationship. One couple is married, the next is de facto, another are partners and the fourth is a same-sex relationship. Amazingly enough, regardless of which definition a couple applies to themselves, their entitlements on separation are in most cases viewed the same way.

How sad is it that we can acknowledge a couple's equality in a legal sense if/when they separate, but we can not when they wish to make a commitment to one another! Way to place faith in people's ability to stay together.

In spite of this progress, and the fact that when separating at least, couples are thought of as having equal rights whether married or not; there's still a sacred element to the institution of marriage.

So the question is, how do we correct that?

The first step is to acknowledge that regardless of their gender, any couple wishing to make a public commitment to one another before their friends, family and the law should be entitled to make that declaration and have it recognized equally. There is no objective, rational reason not to take this step.

As with everything in society, as time passes, definitions change and purposes get reassigned. The 21st Century Marriage is no different.

¹_{Tassie Couples Keep it Civil}

_{Comments will be available online soon. Feedback is always welcome at midnightquills@gmail.com}

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