Culture

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz Reckons We Should Celebrate People Who “Come Out” As Straight

He also thinks marriage equality will do "irreparable damage to the next generation."

by Tom Clift  11 October 2016

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Not sure if you’re aware of this, but straight people in this country have it pretty damn tough. Or at least, that’s what Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz reckons. The former Abbott frontbencher, hardcore conservative, and a man who previously linked abortion with breast cancer, is sick and tired of the all the love that gets heaped on LGBTIQ people while heterosexuals like him suffer in silence. It’s a bloody outrage, is what it is. And so help him, he’s going to speak up about it.

An Appreciation Of The Brief But Spectacular Tenure Of Eric Abetz

“Ever notice how when some people go from the heterosexual to homosexual lifestyle they are able to be celebrated and honoured for their honesty and courage?” asked Abetz in a speech in Hobart last week, according to The Age. “Ever thought why there is no celebration for those that decide to go from the homosexual to heterosexual lifestyle. Are they not honest? Are they not coming out as well? And that is just one of the examples of the one-way traffic and bias from the media.”

The comments were made at the launch of a new book by Australian Marriage Forum president David van Gend, a tome with the charming title Stealing from the Child: The Injustice of ‘Marriage Equality’. Abetz used the book launch to reaffirm his opposition to marriage equality, saying that it would do “irreparable damage to the next generation.”

Couple of things here. Firstly, the reason we don’t celebrate people for coming out as heterosexual is because society already assumes you’re straight unless you explicitly say otherwise. It’s one of the most glaring examples of straight privilege that exists.

Secondly, let’s not act as though coming out is a fun and easy experience. For a lot of people, it can be incredibly stressful and frightening – which isn’t really surprising, given that it carries with it the very real possibility of rejection by friends and family, as well as the discrimination and threats of violence that members of the LGBTIQ community face every single day.

There’s a reason that LGBTIQ Australians have significantly higher rates of depression, and are far more likely to attempt suicide, than their heterosexual counterparts – and that reason looks and sounds a whole lot like Eric Abetz.

Of course the senator’s nonsensical ramblings shouldn’t come as remotely surprising, given that he previously described marriage equality as a “fad” and said that he would vote against it in parliament regardless of the result of any plebiscite. “It is not within society’s interests to change this foundational institution,” said Abetz to ABC Radio National just this morning. “The best socialisation methodology devised by mankind from day one is the biological mum and dad looking after their children.”

Abetz also addressed the government’s new marriage equality bill, which would allow religious organisations to legally discriminate against same-sex couples on the grounds that they “conscientiously object” to same-sex marriage. Unsurprisingly, the senator doesn’t think that the proposed changes go far enough, telling the ABC that the right to discriminate should extend to businesses across the board.

“I believe that it is a fundamental right that if you are person of conscience who is, with this example, against gay marriage, that you and your business should not be forced to provide a cake that celebrates gay marriage,” said Abetz.