Wodonga Council latest to declare support for gay marriage
THE City of Wodonga became the latest in a growing list of local governments to publicly endorse same-sex marriage this week.
On Monday night, councillors representing the Victorian country area voted 5-1 — with one abstention — in favour of Cr Lisa Mahood’s motion to have council officially declare support for marriage equality.
The motion also dictated that council would write to local state and federal MPs to let them know, too.
“I believe in a community where we are supportive of all people, I believe in a community where differences are accepted and celebrated,” Cr Mahood said.
The motion came about after local resident Cathy Prior wrote to the council asking them to show that her family had equal standing in her community.
“My daughter was born in Wodonga hospital, we have built a house in Wodonga, we pay rates in Wodonga, my partner and I both work, shop and live our lives in the Wodonga community,” she wrote.
“My daughter will grow up and go to school in this community, I want her to be accepted and considered no different than the little girl next door.”
News of the motion being approved by council was welcomed by Australian Marriage Equality deputy director Ivan Hinton.
“Wodonga has added it’s name to the growing number of local governments around Australia to show leadership on this issue,” he said in a statement.
“It is time for our federal MPs to recognise that, regardless of where their electorate is, communities are calling for change.
“It is time for the Coalition to have the party room discussion on marriage equality that was promised prior to the last election and it may just be our rural MPs that are the ones to find the courage to take the lead.”
Read Cathy Prior’s full letter to Wodonga councillors here:
Dear Wodonga councillors,
I am writing to express my extreme gratitude that Wodonga council consider voting to support marriage equality.
For Wodonga council to publicly support marriage equality says to me that you believe that my family and family’s like mine are just as equal and important as any other family in Wodonga.
For Wodonga council to publicly acknowledge that my family is currently seen as second class citizens because my daughter has two mothers, and acknowledges that we deserve the same protections under the law as any other family, and that OUR community will not stand for its citizens to be discriminated against on the base of sexuality.
My daughter was born in Wodonga hospital, we have built a house in wodonga, we pay rates in wodonga, my partner and I both work, shop and live our lives in the wodonga community. My daughter will grow up and go to school in this community, I want her to be accepted and considered no different than the little girl next door.
By Wodonga council voting to publicly support marriage equality you say to my family and families like mine ‘we stand with you, we do not discriminate’.
Please vote to support marriage equality.
Many thanks,
Cathy Prior
I note the posts re gay men allegedly being attacked or committing suicide and wish to provide my condolences.
I also think it was wrong to persecute homosexuals and others based on their sexuality, and strongly support the right of homosexuals and others of minority sexual persusauion to particpate freely in society without discrimination.
However, with due respect for others opinions and right to disagree, I offer an opposing view. The argument for homosexual marriage rights has no right place in society, and is not supported by the law of nature. This is because marriage is designed to combine both human constructs and the law of nature, for heterosexuals. It was never intended as a model for homosexuals, and the law of nature has not changed to make any change a valid consideration.
:
provide relationship between a man and a woman, and,
as the best (ideally) place to bear and raise children with a male and female role model.
Consequently, nature ideally intended children to have a mother and a father, not a mother and a mother, or a father and a father. Heterosexual marriage provides a legal and human basis that should, in most cases, put the childs rights firsts, not the motivations of the parents.
Nature does not allow homosexuals to procreate, at least not without third party intervention. We allow heterosexual couples medical intervention when one partner cannot have a child because if nature worked as intended, they would be able to have children. Nature as never provided children naturally for homosexuals.
Therefore, a homosexual desire to have children is their own motivation-it isn’t a natural motivation as it is with heterosexuals. While recognising some people decide to have children when married as a social status or felt obligation, this is not the basis that marriage intended for children.
So with respect, I think that a claim of discrimination that homosexuals cannot get married is false and invalid.
The homosexual community should morally consider some other form of legal recgnition of homosexual union that does not change the current status of marriage.
Yes it must be very frustrating trying to argue what is natural using the internet that grows own trees, and a computor that was designed by a gay man called Allan Turing.
Well done Wodonga!
The 2004 Australian gay marriage ban, is nothing but cruel and barbaric and needs to be repealed right now in 2015!
Cr Lisa Mahood did a fantastic job. We grew up in the same area, and each afternoon after school we would swim at the Kergunyah reserve in the Kiewa River. I have fond memories of all the kids in the area just getting along. This was also my first memory of homophobia. A friends older brother came, he was openly gay, and some of the mums asked us not to go near him.
Lisa has grown up to be an empathic community minded person with a big heart. Politically she is of the left. It is also worth thanking the conservative councillors who showed the leadership missing in the Federal Cabinet. Wodonga is known as a conservative country town, and discrimination is not a conservative value. It was great to see people come together to send a strong message of support to all families.