Since a number of Australian states are currently looking at granting special rights to homosexuals, including adoption rights, and given some recent overseas victories for homosexual activists, some simple facts need to be set forth and made available. These are made in the briefest and most succinct manner possible. All the points can be more fully argued and elaborated upon, along with complete documentation and referencing. This documentation is available upon request. But here are some basic truths that need to be stressed in this debate.
1. Almost all societies throughout human history have been based upon marriage and the two-parent family. Exceptions exist, but they are not the norm.
2. Most societies have given special recognition to marriage and heterosexual two-parent families.
3. Married families have generally been recognised as the best environment for raising children and cementing the social fabric of societies.
4. A large body of social science evidence exists to say that children raised in two-parent families are better off by all indicators, generally speaking, than in any other type of relationship.
5. Studies purporting to show that children raised in homosexual households suffer no ill effects are at best inconclusive and at worst are subject to major methodological shortcomings.
6. Based on the evidence, it seems clear that wherever possible, children deserve to have their own mother and father and be raised by them.
7. Children should not be treated as social guinea pigs to meet the desires of adults, or to appease the demands of activist minority groups.
8. Attempts to equate same-sex relationships with the natural two-parent family are neither intellectually coherent nor socially acceptable.
9. When marriage and family suffers, societies suffer as well.
10. When societies grant special rights and privileges to one minority group, it often comes at the expense of the rest of community.
11. The clear majority of Australians do not approve of homosexual marriage and adoption rights.
12. While homosexuals deserve to be treated with respect and civility, they do not, as a group, warrant special protections and benefits from the law.
13. Homosexuals already enjoy the same basic rights and privileges as do other Australians.
14. Homosexuals make up an extremely small portion of society. In most Western nations they number between 1 and 2 per cent of all adults.
15. Long-term, monogamous relationships among homosexuals tend to be fairly rare. Multiple partners and short-term relationships are much more common.
16. No clear scientific evidence yet exists that homosexuality is genetically based, or that people are born that way.
17. The more honest homosexuals openly admit that homosexuality is in many ways a choice.
18. Even if people are born with a proclivity towards homosexuality, just as some might be born with a predisposition to over-eating or anger, the important thing is what we do with such proclivities.
19. Homosexuality can be a very dangerous and high-risk activity. Many medical problems are associated with the lifestyle, not least of which is HIV/AIDS.
20. In Australia around 85 per cent of all cases of HIV/AIDS are due to male homosexual activity.
21. To a significant extent, if you reduce the incidence of homosexual behaviour, you reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS.
22. Most societies have taken steps to protect the community against unsafe lifestyles, such as cigarette smoking.
23. Governments have an obligation to protect its citizens from high-risk behaviours.
24. Special rights should not be granted to special sections of the community based solely on their lifestyle choices.
25. For the sake of our children’s wellbeing, as well as the stability of the community, therefore, the attempts to grant special rights and special privileges to homosexuals should not be allowed to proceed.
