At last, a major player on the European political stage has spoken the truth. On exiting the German Parliament after it had approved a law allowing same-sex marriage, Chancellor Angela Merkel told journalists that she had voted against the law (in a free vote) because she believes marriage is “a union between a male and a female”.
Our own politicians from both parties, however, would have none of this. They cling to the fact that gay marriage was in their parties’ electoral manifesto as a justification for not allowing a free vote. I wonder how many people read the party manifestos or understood the implications of such a proposal. Equality is also being highlighted in this debate.
But how can one propose equality between things that are intrinsically different?
What’s in a name, somebody might ask. This is a shallow argument. By allowing gay marriage we are declaring that our society makes no distinction between this and a heterosexual proper marriage. This is an insult to the latter.
And if it’s a case of ‘what’s in a name’, why not leave it as it is? But the demands on both parties by the LGBTIQ lobby must be appeased for political expediency.