Same-Sex Marriage: Why I’m Voting “Yes”

I’ve spent a lot of the last two months talking about the SSM campaign, and I haven’t really talked too much , overtly anyway, about why I will be voting “Yes”. Over the final few weeks of the campaign, I’m going to talk a bit about why I don’t consider any of the “No” arguments legitimate or logical. But today, because the argument is so simple it only needs one post, I’ll talk about why I’m voting “Yes”.

It comes down to equality, a collection of letters so overused in the last while that some view it as a pointless buzzword. But equality is the reason. I believe that two people who love each other, are committed to each other, and want to spend their lives together, should be allowed the opportunity to partake in the union that is marriage, with all of the societal, financial and legal implications attached. And I believe that this union should be free to enter for all, regardless of their sexual orientation, or the identity of their partner. In the world of civil marriage, I do not believe that there is room for the sort of discrimination that is capable of being perpetrated in religious marriage.

And that’s all. That’s why I will be voting “Yes” to the question that will be put towards me on May 22^nd. No thoughts of adoption or surrogacy will be entering my mind as I tick that box. All that I, and we, are being asked, is whether we want to amend the constitution to give same sex couples the opportunity and the right to be placed on an equal footing with everyone else when it comes to marriage. Isn’t that worth doing? Isn’t that worth changing?

That’s it. Short and sweet. Next week, I’ll start taking on the “No” arguments, one at a time.