Post by rachel on Sept 21, 2016 23:59:51 GMT -5
At the moment, it seems the biggest topic of conversation here in Australia is the marriage plebiscite, so I thought I'd explain a little bit about it and ask for prayer from the people here.
In Australia, we have a difference between plebiscites and referenda (in most countries, the terms are synonymous). A referendum is a mandatory vote on a yes/no question to change something in the Constitution upon which the government and/or legislature must act - for example, back in 1999, we had a referendum on becoming a republic, which would have required a change to the Constitution. A plebiscite is a non-mandatory vote on a question or matter of concern in order to inform the government and/or legislature, but they are not required to act on it - for example, in 1977, we had a plebiscite for the national song, several years after which "Advance Australia Fair" was officially adopted.
The definition of marriage in the Constitution is non-specific and therefore the question of homosexual marriage comes down to the Marriage Act 1961 (Amendment 2004), which does specify "a man and a woman" and then goes on to state that man/man and woman/woman marriages entered into overseas aren't to be recognised. So, technically the Senate could legislate to change the Marriage Act without consulting the people (which would be necessary for a change to the Constitution). However, because it was such a hot issue, the Attorney-General made it an election issue by saying that a bill would be put to the Senate for it would be put to the national electorate in a plebiscite if the same party was re-elected in the 2016 elections (which happened in July), which they were.
Which leads us to where we are now, with the Senate currently debating whether to pass the bill for the plebiscite, which would be on the 11th of February next year. And the weirdest thing has happened. After years and years of the leftist pro-gay side going on about how too many conservatives in parliament were skewing the national will and preventing legalisation of same-sex marriage by voting along party lines against the will of the electorate, and how we really must have a plebiscite to sort the matter out (because, with the power put in the hands of the people, obviously the people would vote for change), they're suddenly back-tracking on all the rhetoric and searching for any excuse to block the referendum bill.
They're still spouting the same poll statistic, that 72% of Australians support gay marriage. I don't know where they got that statistic from - a university campus, perhaps - but even though they keep repeating it, they don't want the plebiscite suddenly. Are they afraid that the popular vote will be a "no"? For a time there, they were trying to say that the plebiscite voting age should be put at 16 just this once (rather than 18) - an obvious attempt to get the more leftist younger demographic in to counter-balance the more conservative older demographic. But now they're suddenly trying to avoid the plebiscite because "the campaigning will cause mental anguish to gay people" and "a potential 'no' vote could block any change from occurring for years, like the republic referendum did".
Those of us against homosexual marriage aren't going to try to block the plebiscite, because we'd just be accused of being bigots and scared of it passing, right? Besides which, a lot of us are genuinely curious about what the result will be. There's a very real chance that it would pass, but some of us think the leftist pro-side is noisier than it is strong and that it's underestimating the conservative minorities (especially Muslim immigrant communities). We're very worried, of course, because if the plebiscite goes ahead and does pass, then there's nothing we can do, and homosexual marriage will almost certainly be made illegal. On the other hand, the plebiscite is really the last chance to stand up for marriage as it is.
So, I suppose, after all that complicated explanation, there are a three prayer points:
(1) Pray that the leftist side will not be able to block the bill, and that the plebiscite will be held.
(2) Pray for the "NO" campaigners, for wisdom in their words and arguments in the lead-up to the plebiscite - and for everyone else to have the courage to speak up.
(3) Pray for the voters, and for the ultimate result.
In Australia, we have a difference between plebiscites and referenda (in most countries, the terms are synonymous). A referendum is a mandatory vote on a yes/no question to change something in the Constitution upon which the government and/or legislature must act - for example, back in 1999, we had a referendum on becoming a republic, which would have required a change to the Constitution. A plebiscite is a non-mandatory vote on a question or matter of concern in order to inform the government and/or legislature, but they are not required to act on it - for example, in 1977, we had a plebiscite for the national song, several years after which "Advance Australia Fair" was officially adopted.
The definition of marriage in the Constitution is non-specific and therefore the question of homosexual marriage comes down to the Marriage Act 1961 (Amendment 2004), which does specify "a man and a woman" and then goes on to state that man/man and woman/woman marriages entered into overseas aren't to be recognised. So, technically the Senate could legislate to change the Marriage Act without consulting the people (which would be necessary for a change to the Constitution). However, because it was such a hot issue, the Attorney-General made it an election issue by saying that a bill would be put to the Senate for it would be put to the national electorate in a plebiscite if the same party was re-elected in the 2016 elections (which happened in July), which they were.
Which leads us to where we are now, with the Senate currently debating whether to pass the bill for the plebiscite, which would be on the 11th of February next year. And the weirdest thing has happened. After years and years of the leftist pro-gay side going on about how too many conservatives in parliament were skewing the national will and preventing legalisation of same-sex marriage by voting along party lines against the will of the electorate, and how we really must have a plebiscite to sort the matter out (because, with the power put in the hands of the people, obviously the people would vote for change), they're suddenly back-tracking on all the rhetoric and searching for any excuse to block the referendum bill.
They're still spouting the same poll statistic, that 72% of Australians support gay marriage. I don't know where they got that statistic from - a university campus, perhaps - but even though they keep repeating it, they don't want the plebiscite suddenly. Are they afraid that the popular vote will be a "no"? For a time there, they were trying to say that the plebiscite voting age should be put at 16 just this once (rather than 18) - an obvious attempt to get the more leftist younger demographic in to counter-balance the more conservative older demographic. But now they're suddenly trying to avoid the plebiscite because "the campaigning will cause mental anguish to gay people" and "a potential 'no' vote could block any change from occurring for years, like the republic referendum did".
Those of us against homosexual marriage aren't going to try to block the plebiscite, because we'd just be accused of being bigots and scared of it passing, right? Besides which, a lot of us are genuinely curious about what the result will be. There's a very real chance that it would pass, but some of us think the leftist pro-side is noisier than it is strong and that it's underestimating the conservative minorities (especially Muslim immigrant communities). We're very worried, of course, because if the plebiscite goes ahead and does pass, then there's nothing we can do, and homosexual marriage will almost certainly be made illegal. On the other hand, the plebiscite is really the last chance to stand up for marriage as it is.
So, I suppose, after all that complicated explanation, there are a three prayer points:
(1) Pray that the leftist side will not be able to block the bill, and that the plebiscite will be held.
(2) Pray for the "NO" campaigners, for wisdom in their words and arguments in the lead-up to the plebiscite - and for everyone else to have the courage to speak up.
(3) Pray for the voters, and for the ultimate result.