This email document, received by me from a 'trusted' source, is forwarded for your possible interest and attention.
The article appears to have been produced by the Australian Christian Lobby http://www.acl.org.au/ <http://www.acl.org.au/> and the Australian Family Association http://www.family.org.au/ <http://www.family.org.au/> . Best wishes, Peter -----Original Message----- Sent: Tuesday, 27 July 2004 15:56 Subject: FW: Unclassified The Australian Parliament's Deadline for Marriage Action Request and Overview * The Australian Parliament is currently defining marriage. * The reason for codifying marriage flowed from the ACT government's grant of equal rights to gay couples to adopt children. This blurred the traditional accepted concept of marriage. * The Australian public has been given a deadline of 30 Jul to forward submissions to effect the definition of marriage. * Prime Minister Howard's proposal that marriage is a union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others for life, remains on the agenda and has the support of Christian leaders however it was forwarded to Senate Committee. * Without submissions from the public, which will be placed on the public record, the Senate Committee, which is dominated by Greens and Democrats, could act arbitrarily in accordance with their intent to change marriage from its traditional form. Intense lobbying is occurring to create less healthy and desirable models of marriage. Some of these lobby groups seek to gain the rights of marriage (eg adoption rights) yet publicly condemn the responsibilities. * The National Marriage Forum to be held in the Great Hall of the Australian Parliament House on Wed 4 Aug is an event where the community leaders and the public can show public support for Marriage. * Perhaps your local member should be informed that this should be an election issue in response to the rejection of the traditional values that have supported marriage for many, many years. Action Points One. The Senate committee investigating marriage will take submissions until Friday. Remember, your submission can simply be, "I believe marriage is just between a man and a woman". It can be that simple. Submissions close on 30 July. And should be emailed to [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > and must include your postal address and phone number on the email submission. Two. Attend the National Marriage Forum at Parliament House, Canberra Wednesday, August 4 see http://www.acl.org.au/home/index.stw <http://www.acl.org.au/home/index.stw> . for details and further background on why marriage is so important or phone 02 62590431. Submissions Public Committees in Parliament react to the weight of submissions that are placed on the public record. If you believe the current accepted concept of marriage should be protected then reinforce the need for marriage to be protected as the union between a woman, to the exclusion of all others and for life and please say so otherwise your opinion will not be counted. Is marriage to become a political trophy because Christians did not stand up for their values? Alternatively proposals are currently being presented by the homosexual lobby, who openly denounces monogamy and a life long commitment. However it should be noted that it is the model of a life long level of commitment which provides the stability and emotional safety for those who approach the relationship of marriage seriously, and brings the community the greatest advantage from marriage, both for the children and the couple. A summary of points that you might like to draw on in your submission is attached. In addition to http://www.acl.org.au/ <http://www.acl.org.au/> you are encouraged to visit the Australian Family Association website <http://www.family.org.au/ <http://www.family.org.au/> > for additional information supporting marriage in its traditional form. It is extremely important that you put in a submission and that you craft it in your own words. Make sure you include your name, a contact phone number and address on your submission. Please promulgate this information otherwise many Australians will not be given the opportunity to protect the traditional Christian concept of marriage and to counter the adoption of children by homosexuals. QUICK FACTS ON MARRIAGE Bill Muehlenberg July 2004 * Almost every culture throughout human history has had a recognizable form of marriage. * Marriages existed even before states acknowledged or regulated them. * Marriage is both a public act and a social institution. * Marriage is not just a purely private or personal arrangement. * The institution of marriage has always had two main purposes: 1. A public recognition and regulation of human sexuality between a man and a woman. 2. A socially recognised means by which children are brought into the world and cared for. * Marriage has always been about a sexual relationship between one adult man and one adult woman. * Marriage discriminates: 7 years olds cannot marry; three men cannot marry; a brother and a sister cannot marry. * Marriage confers tremendous benefits to the rest of society, so societies have always conferred benefits upon married couples. * Married couples are subject to special favours because they bring to society special responsibilities. * Other types of relationships are just that: relationships. * Many others want the benefits of marriage without the corresponding duties and obligations. * Marriage is not just about love between people. Love can exist outside of a marriage: a brother can love a sister, a son can love a father, a girl can love a cat. But marriage is a special kind of love: a life-long commitment, publicly acknowledged, with the possibility of procreation. * Love does not keep a marriage together; it is marriage that keeps love together. * When we demean or trivialise the idea of marriage, it makes it harder for individuals marriages to last the distance. * In some ways marriage is a fragile institution which needs constant social support and assistance. That is, while women tend to naturally bond with their offspring, men need more help bonding with their wife and their children. Marriage provides that help. Homosexual marriage * By equating any and all types of relationships with marriage, we effectively abolish both the idea and the meaning of marriage. * The same arguments used to justify same-sex marriages can be used to justify polygamy, incest, bestiality, group sex, and so on. Once the fundamental idea of marriage as one man and one woman is tossed out, any and all types of sexual activity become permissible. * Homosexuals comprise a very small portion of Australian society, and homosexuals who want to marry make up an even smaller number. * The real aim of campaigning for same-sex marriage is the symbolic approval and social recognition of the homosexual lifestyle. * Most homosexuals admit that their understanding of marriage differs from the normal heterosexual understanding, with the willingness to allow extra-marital sexual outlets. (Full documentation for the above points is available from the author.) THE FACTS ON SAME-SEX ADOPTION RIGHTS Bill Muehlenberg Revised, July 2004 * It is abundantly clear from the social science research that children are best served when raised with their biological mother and father. * For the best outcomes for children, no other parenting combination comes close to that of the mother-father union cemented by marriage. * No one has a "right" to children. * Every child has a right to a mother and a father. * A child needs a father, not just "male role models". * A child needs a mother, not just "female role models". * A child needs to see how men and women interact and relate to each other on a daily basis. * Long-term homosexuals relationships tend to be very rare. * In contrast, heterosexual relationships have a much better record of permanency. * Most homosexual relationships allow for other partners and/or other sexual outlets. * In contrast, heterosexual relationships involve fewer outside partners and fewer outside sexual contacts. * The fact that heterosexual relationships may not always last, or may not always be faithful, does not mean we should further harm our children by including homosexual couples. Two wrongs do not make a right. * Studies purporting to show that children do OK when raised by same-sex parents have been criticised for many methodological shortcomings. * Studies also exist showing the harm children experience when raised in same-sex households. * These studies also show that children raised in same-sex households are more likely to become homosexual themselves. * The rights of children should always come ahead of the desires and whims of adults. * Children should not be treated as guinea pigs in grand social experiments. * Many other groups are denied adoption rights: those who are too young or too old, those who with criminal records, etc. * The family unit of mother-father-child has been the norm throughout human history and should not be jettisoned by radical alternatives. * For the sake of our children, we should reject same-sex adoption rights. (For full documentation, see the author's 5-page paper, "What Is Wrong With Same-Sex Adoption Rights?") More information In addition to http://www.acl.org.au/ <http://www.acl.org.au/> you are encouraged to visit the Australian Family Association website <http://www.family.org.au/ <http://www.family.org.au/> > for additional information supporting marriage in its traditional form. If you are interested in addressing more specific issues related to the bill, you can find them here: <http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/marriage/index.htm <http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/marriage/index.htm> > What the politicians are saying The ALP has already stated it will give same-sex 'couples' a type of 'civil union' relationship, giving all the rights of 'married' couples - the Greens and Democrats have stated that they support full marriage rights by changing the Marriage Act to include same-sex couples. What the homosexuals are saying Spokesperson for a new pro-homosexual lobby group 'Australian Marriage Equality', Geraldine Donoghue, said AME was preparing a pro-marriage [pro same-sex marriage] submission to the inquiry, and would be campaigning for others to do the same. AME fellow organiser Luke Gahan says, "When a couple marries, they immediately access a wide range of spousal benefits" This clearly shows that they want all the 'rights' without the responsibility to 'live by the rules'. This issue not only effects the future society we will live in but also the workplace. Future Defence policy and expenditure may be adversely effected if an inappropriate definition of marriage is adopted. PS * State that you support marriage remaining exclusively between a male and a female. The Senate Committee is asking for your input - Please give them the clear simple message that you support both the Howard Government 'Marriage Act Amendment Bill 2004' and a ban on adoption by same-sex 'couples'. Please click on to the second half of this link to place your submission [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > and please include your postal address and phone number on the email submission. ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
