Sam de Brito, whom I've mentioned before (1, 2) writes in his blog post:
We're a nation whose unofficial national anthem, I Still Call Australia Home, was written and sung by a gay man - Peter Allen - and that sports a city - Sydney - second only to San Francisco as a global gay mecca.
As of last week we have a gay man, the Greens' Bob Brown, holding the balance of power in our Senate, our federal Minister for Finance Penny Wong is a proud lesbian, some of our most famous musicians are gay - Sam Sparro, Missy Higgins, Paul Mac - and I reckon our gay Olympians have won more medals than straights (but let's not go there).
Surely homosexuals are as part of the fabric of this country as meat pies and Holden cars? Or so I thought - but then along came my neighbour to remind me otherwise.
In the US, for example, 2010 was the first time an outright majority of people (52 per cent) told Gallup pollsters they believed gay and lesbian relations were "morally acceptable".
This has resulted in the funny-if-it-wasn't-so-sad spectacle of people who object to gay rights casting themselves as victims, an oppressed minority forced to watch the horror of fashionably dressed men holding hands at the supermarket.
Personally, I'm astonished that my country, which once prided itself on thumbing its nose at the conservative majority, now feels it's acceptable to alienate its citizens just because of who they shag.
Good on you Sam! And thank you.
[Cartoon by Leunig, a straight left-leaning Victorian cartoonist]
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