in brief: acl leader puts out the butt on gay marriage
In a marriage equality debate at the University of Tasmania on Wednesday, head of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Jim Wallace suggested that smoking is more conducive to health than a homosexual lifestyle.
His comparison of cigarettes and homosexuality ensued once Wallace received a question from one of the students in regard to the relevance of his views.
‘I think we’re going to owe smokers a big apology when the homosexual community’s own statistics for its health…are that it has higher rates of drug-taking, of suicide, it has the life of a male reduced by up to 20 years,’ said Wallace.
He continued his response to the audience with statistics which revealed that smokers lose seven to ten years of life through their habit.
‘We need to be aware that the homosexual lifestyle carries these problems.’
‘Normalising the lifestyle by the attribution of marriage, for instance, has to be considered in what it does encouraging people into it.’
Openly saddened by the figures, Wallace told the audience that nations which had legalised gay marriage had not decreased these aforementioned health risks.
‘Where gay marriage has been introduced, or civil unions, it hasn’t changed the level of suicide,’ he said.
‘I am very sorry for that. My heart goes out to those people. But it is a fact.’
The debate was also attended by Greens leader Christine Milne who argued that discrimination was a hefty contributor to these statistics.
She told reporters that, ‘Mental health issues for young gay people particularly are certainly increased when discrimination occurs.’
Milne went on to accuse the ACL of homophobia. She said that the group should focus on other social issues since there are already bills before the federal parliament regarding marital equality. Tasmania’s lower house had also recently passed a same-sex marriage bill.
Wallace did not back down on his commentary, indicting gay activism as ‘bullying’ and the Greens as disparaging the Church with ‘hate language.’
For marriage equality advocates, and the broader gay community, the ACL leader’s remarks have triggered outrage.
‘The quoting of irrelevant and biased studies to stigmatise gay Australians is a low and desperate tactic that diminishes Mr Wallace and his cause,’ said Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesman Rodney Croome.
Although he claims his statements have been misconstrued, Wallace is standing by the sentiment of his initial commentary regarding the homosexual lifestyle.
‘Media reporting… said that I said smoking was healthier than gay marriage,’ said Wallace.
‘I never said that. And my comments were much more nuanced.’
The Christian lobbyist is of the belief that the media uproar has been ‘a victory for the demonisation tactics of gay activism.’
Prime Minister Julia Gillard will no longer be speaking at the ACL’s national conference next month.
‘To compare the health effects of smoking cigarettes with the many struggles gay and lesbian Australians endure in contemporary society is heartless and wrong,’ she said.
By Melissa Koutoukidis
