Australia Won’t Blindly Follow Equality
'Australia Won’t Blindly Follow U.S. To Equal Marriage, It’s Not Like A War' says Tony Abbott. The Australian Government has declared it is not compelled by the Supreme Court ruling on equal marriage and will not blindly follow the United States into social reforms like they were some kind of war in the Middle East.
While momentum is growing in Australia for equal marriage reforms, the Prime Minister has warned that we must stop and consider the implications of applying such measures to Australia and not treat such a fundamental decision with the kind of flippancy you would enter an unending ground war in an already destabilised region.
“This decision could not be more important,” said Prime Minister Abbott. “We cannot rush into such a thing. We are not merely an extra state of America. We would only blindly follow them if it were for a poorly-thought out military campaign.
“We want to do something because we want to do it. This isn’t the case here. Surely, the overwhelming majority of Australians do want us to do this but that’s probably because they saw America do it.
“We’re our own people. We don’t just do everything that the United States, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, France and all the others have done.
“If all those nations jumped off a bridge and our population really wanted to also jump off a bridge would you do it? The last thing you should do in a democracy is listen to the will of the people. This isn’t a popularity contest - that’s just how we get in a position to say this isn’t a popularity contest.”
The Prime Minister has admitted that the fight against equal marriage seems to be a lost cause.
“Sure, we might be on the wrong side of history but sometimes it’s important to stand for what you believe in. How am I supposed to look my grandchildren in the eye and tell them that I let two people who loved each other get married under my watch?”
Tags: Same-sex marriage, Gay Rights