I applaud last Saturday’s editorial (Let’s settle the gay marriage issue, 13.09.2012) and agree that it is time to end the discrimination against those in same-sex partnerships.
We wouldn’t dream of denying people the right to marry on the basis of their religion or race, yet there are those who would seek to limit the rights of others based on sexual preference and their own antiquated definitions of marriage.
Just as same-sex couples have to contend with stigma and mainstream misconceptions to gain equality in marriage rights, others in our society are having to confront the same outdated attitudes when it comes to our right not to marry or form partnerships.
I long for the day when I can say that I am single by choice and child free by choice without encountering pity, or being optimistically instructed not to give up hope.
Living in a progressive society means that women today have far more options open to them than the traditional roles of wife and mother, so it is hardly surprising that many wish to take advantage of the possibilities they have fought hard to achieve.
We are no longer living in the 1950s and for many of us there is little to lament about that.
Families now come in all forms and sizes and a nuclear family structure is just one of the available options. In the immortal words of American journalist and author David Grayson: “Commandment number one for any truly civilised society is this - let people be different.”
Louise Krieger,
Orange
