The ACL fail to surprise me

So the ACL put out a press release today claiming that the “gay activists” (yes I know, I’m one too, I want to know who isn’t apart from the ACL), was claiming victory over the (voluntary as far as we know) resignation of Professor Kuruvilla George from the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission.  For those who haven’t been following Australian Politics (and I completely get that), Professor Kuruvilla George co-signed a submission to the Australian Senate Enquiry into equal marriage suggesting that children should be brought up in a heterosexual unit as that was the most appropriate family unit and that no studies have ever found that having same sex parents is good for children.  Yes, I know.

The submission was listed as “Doctors for the Family” and is available here.

The big problem for Professor Kuruvilla George, being his role as a board member for an organisation that promotes equality and acts in cases of discrimination against protected attributes, one of which is sexual orientation.  He is also the Deputy Chief Psychiatrist for Victoria.  According to The Age today, his resignation was voluntary and had nothing to do with his submission to the Senate Enquiry which was done in as a private individual (though signed with: MBBS MPhil FRCPsych FRANZCP after his name – which means he was signing it in a medical capacity at least – as far as I read it).

I was going to talk about the ACL’s press release and their suggestion that all research on queer families was bunk, but the delightful Chrys beat me too it, so I’ll point you at her work here, and another article which debunks the authors that the ACL are relying on here.

There is one comment from the ACL press release that I want to address:

“This is clearly no basis for Federal politicians to make a decision about changing the Marriage Act – a decision which will have big consequences for children deliberately excluded from one of their biological parents for life.”

Mr Wallace said Professor George should be invited back to the Victorian Human rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and that claims by homosexual activists of equal parenting outcomes should be subjected to much more rigour before politicians legislate to create another stolen generation.

Firstly I’ve addressed the issue with comparing children in same sex relationships to the Stolen Generations here.  Hello David Van Gend, you’re still an arsehat.  Clearly the ACL are not above emotional manipulation and appropriation for their own agenda – I would hope that an organisation that claims to be Christian would be more compassionate towards those members of the Stolen Generation who are still with us and the trauma they experienced.

Secondly, let’s address the claim “children deliberately excluded from one of their biological parents for life”.  Now I’m not 100% sure what is meant here, so I’m going to go with all options and discuss which ones the ACL seems to not mind, and the ones they do.

  1. Child of heterosexual parents has a parent die – child is deliberately excluded from one of their biological parents for life, but that’s ok because it’s part of God’s plan
  2. Child of heterosexual parents has a parent separate/abandon/divorce acrimoniously/were never in a relationship – not good, but not as bad two committed same sex people bringing up a child
  3. Child of heterosexual parents where the child was conceived by donor sperm or egg and does not know the donor – not good, but not as bad as two committed same sex people bringing up a child (though in this case the child is potentially being excluded from a biological parent)
  4. Child of heterosexual parents where the child was conceived by donor sperm or egg and who does know the donor – perfectly fine
  5. Child of currently queer parents, where the child was conceived by donor sperm or egg, and who know the other biological parent – EVIL!
  6. Child of currently queer parents, where the child was conceived by donor sperm or egg, and who does not know the donor – EVIL!
  7. Child of currently queer parents, where the child was conceived in a heterosexual relationship before at least one parent’s sexual orientation changed/was realised – assume custody arrangements apply – EVIL!
  8. Child of currently queer parents, where the child was conceived in a heterosexual relationship before one of the parents died – child is deliberately excluded from one of their biological parents for life – EVIL!

And let’s not even think about how this debate yet again makes bisexuals invisible – because I’m bisexual and married to a bisexual, so we’re queer parents, and yet because we’re opposite sex if we had children it’d be A’OK by the ACL.

The ACL in their hysteria to condemn equal marriage and same sex relationships throw single parents (for whatever reason) under the bus as well.  Instead of preaching tolerance, compassion, unconditional love, understanding, charity and hope as I’d expect a Christian organisation to do, they peddle in fear, bigotry and lies.  It’s time (still) that the ACL closed the door and gave up, they have no credibility and only continue to lose respect every time they go out in public.

Further recommended reading: Doctors for the Family – Debunked

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