It's Not Just Gay Marriage

If you have been living under a rock recently (I would not blame you if you have, there are some pretty nice rocks out there) you may not have heard that the Supreme Court of the United States of America (SCOTUS) legalised same-sex marriage in all 50 states. That is a really awesome step towards equality and it sends a message to the new generations that same-sex relationships are normal and deserve the same treatment as heterosexual ones. However, there has been one large oversight by many who report on this milestone in LGBT+ history.

Source: https://secularpolicyinstitute.net/oklahoma-house-oks-bill-for-ministers-to-refuse-gay-marriage/

A lot of the headlines have contained some variation of the following: "Gay Marriage Legalised". While it may be true that gay couples can now marry it does not mean that only gay people can get married. The legalisation of same-sex marriage opens up the door for people of all sexual orientations to get married. While it may be 'gay marriage' it is also "bisexual marriage", "pansexual mariage", "queer marriage", "skoliosexual marriage" (people attracted to those who are not cisgendered [someone who is cisgendered identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth]) or, as I like to put it "Marriage". Really, it is just widening the definition of the term "marriage". It is not like people have gay breakfasts (though they are really fun) or bisexual luncheons (again, an interesting concept), people just have breakfast or attend luncheons. By referring to something simply as "gay" or "bi" it really narrows the definition of the thing it describes. It really is just a new definition of marriage where same-sex couples can now have more of the same rights that heterosexual couples have (we are still working on some aspects (such as adoption in Victoria which a same-sex couple can not do)). To be perfectly honest, in Australia at least it is not even a new definition of marriage but rather, if Tony Abbott decides to do his job and support the majority view of Australians, returning the definition to what it originally was. Until August of 2004 same-sex marriage was not illegal in Australia. In August the Liberal Government of the time led by John Howard passed a bill that made same-sex marriages illegal. I am seeing a bit of trend with the Liberal Government which, given its name, is a very ironic party.

The message of this post is really that we should not narrow the definition of something by labeling it as "gay" for example because it really excludes a lot of people to which it also should refer to. Hopefully when it comes time for Tony Abbott to decide whether or not to allow his party a free vote (where they do not have to vote along party lines) on the same-sex marriage bill next month he has the strength to make the right decision for Australia. Not the right decision based on his own minority beliefs. I could have a whole post full of my disappointment for Tony Abbott but it doesn't take long to find if you Google his name (although I have already done this for you so just click here to see it). 

It's time our Prime Minister finally did his job. See you soon.

The Sochi Olympics

That is right, the 2014 Winter Olympics are well under way in Sochi, Russia. Amongst all the excitement of the games there are also a few detractors from one of the greatest moments of 2014. Other than all the issues around Russia's "anti-gay" law which I am not getting into in this post there are other issues surrounding the games that have people asking whether Sochi was ill prepared for this event. Some things are beyond their control while others just seem like ways of cutting corners. Even the opening ceremony had a few glitches. A twitter account with the handle @SochiProblems is an account that has gained more followers than the official Sochi Olympics account. #SochiProblems has also become the default hashtag for complaining about some of the issues.

Source: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/internet/3500861/how-watch-winter-olympics-live/?olo=editorspick

There are cramped living conditions, unreliable electricity, dirty water and much more. The twitter account, @SochiProblems, which I mentioned above has posted many pictures showing some of the issues around the Sochi Olympics including dirty water, and un-plumbed toilets. Work on and around the stadium was still being done five hours before the official opening ceremonies. I thought that I was bad leaving things to the last minute. There has already been a myriad of stories on the different issues of the Sochi Olympics and there are set to be many more. One of the American bobsledders even had to break through a door to escape a bathroom after been locked in. Even the media seem to be suffering a little with their own accommodation not even ready for them when they arrived. However, despite all this we must look on the positives. Our athletes over in Russia are all representing our country well and we should be proud of our talents. We also have to look at some bias that may be shown. Sure there are a lot of problems but had this been somewhere with less controversy would it have made as big a mark as this? It still would have been an issue but would it have been as big? People already had preconceived notions of Russia after its passing of the "Anti-Gay" law making it illegal to tell anyone underage that being Gay is okay and even talking to them about homosexuality is illegal. It really did not start Russia off on a very good foot to greet the rest of the world when the Olympic games did arrive.

We all have hopes in our athletes, see you tomorrow!

2013: The Year that Was

2013 was a year of many highs and, regrettably, many lows. For some, 2013 was just a year. Just 365 ordinary days. For others, however, 2013 was more than that. For some it was 365 extraordinary days. A lot did happen in 2013. Australia had three Prime Ministers (Julia Gillard (27th PM), Kevin Rudd (26th and 28th PM), and Tony Abbott (29th PM)) which, when you think about it, was quite the achievement. 2013 also saw the creation of this blog, the Daily Lukey (in case you were blissfully unaware). New Zealand also allowed Same-Sex Marriage and the United States of America abolished a few of their own anti-gay laws. 2013 was a big year for the LGBQTI community. Aside from the setback and prosecution (now legal) in Russia 2013 saw many strides forward for equality and 2014 is sure to offer some more. I started a VCE subject as well as receiving a literary award early on in April/May. I was selected to be a part of a surely life-changing leadership program culminating in a trip to Kokoda this April which I am very excited and nervous about. However, 2013 did not end on such a high note for everyone. There was a typhoon in the Phillippines as well as other disasters and accidents all around the world that resulted in the loss of family members. 2013 was a mixed bag but all in all it was a great year.

2014 is set to be a good year (hopefully). See you tomorrow!