Nick Ryan: Let them marry — same-sex issue but it should never have got to this

THERE’S a pile of mail on my desk. On top is an envelope causing more trouble than it should.I haven’t opened it yet but I know what’s inside. I’ve seen dozens just like it all over my Facebook feed.

• New poll shows support is waning
• Church leaders won’t influence outcome

THERE’S a pile of mail on my desk. On top is an envelope causing more trouble than it should.

I haven’t opened it yet but I know what’s inside. I’ve seen dozens just like it all over my Facebook feed.

It’s like a mania for photographing government correspondence has broken out across the land. It should never have come to this.

The question contained inside seems so simple that I wonder whether it needed to be asked. The cost of asking it just seems obscene.

I wonder why a government happy to make so many decisions that directly affect on me wants my input into one that doesn’t.

It does, however, affect members of family and some of my dearest friends.

Supporters of gay marriage at a rally in Sydney. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

That I have any right to dictate how they live their lives makes no sense to me. That you do, makes even less.

I’ve written about this whole thing before but have deliberately been quiet on the subject as everyone else has got louder. But regular readers are well aware of where I stand.

Like the woman in Norwood who has been sending me letters for the past few weeks that begin with questions such as “Whose ruling is that of the Pervert?’ and end with bold statements like “The law of God will stand, the law of man will fall.”

Her God is a God of Judgment. The God I was brought up with is a God of Love who reckoned that if you got that right the other stuff pretty much takes care of itself.

But whatever I write is not going to convince her to think differently. Just as what she writes won’t sway me.

But at least her agenda is clear. It’s more than can be said for some.

Protesters hold up banners at an anti-same-sex marriage rally in Sydney. Picture: Peter Parks/AFP

I just wish all those people who bang on about how simply saying “Yes” to changing the law so my brother-in-law can marry the man he loves is somehow a threat to free speech and religious freedom. Why don’t they just admit they’re uncomfortable with the notion of two blokes going the pash.

And as I watch two of my favourite women bring a baby into the world, I invite all those who genuinely believe that marriage exists just so heterosexual people can make babies to try and persuade me this kid hasn’t pulled out a bloody good card in the lottery of life.

And I just hope all those people who say they support the principle but will vote “No’ just because they object to being told to vote for it will take a moment to understand just how monumentally stupid that makes them sound.

You’ve got your envelopes. Tick whatever box you like.

Who am I to tell you what to believe?

And who are you to do the same?