Pop over to The West Australian website and leave a comment in response to this blog by Tiffany Fox on same-sex marriage.

Same sex marriage -- we do?

The debate over same-sex marriages is heating up again after a poll of 1100 people, commissioned by Australian Marriage Equality, found 60 per cent of Australians surveyed believed homosexual couples should have the right to get hitched. 

This may just be the Gen-X in me speaking, but all I can think is: Well, duh. Of course they should. How can it still even be an issue?

There was also strong approval for foreign same-sex marriages to be legally recognised by Australian authorities, with 58 per cent in favour.

Even in WA, where support for gay marriage was at its weakest, 55 per cent backed it, compared to 40 per cent against.

For a State that has shown itself to be rabidly opposed to change – yes, I’m still bitter about the daylight saving outcome – I find the results to be hugely gratifying.

Equal recognition of same-sex relationships is long overdue. It seems crazy that WA allows gay couples to adopt children, but won’t allow them to get married.

Having just walked down the aisle myself six months ago, I’m loathe to deny anyone from having the same fun I’ve had.

And given some of the horribly mismatched, ill-conceived, doomed-to-fail or just plain odd unions that have the full support of the law, I don’t see why a couple who are committed to each other should be legally denied being able to tie the knot just because they don’t fit the XX-XY chromosome pairing.

It is a simple matter of human rights.

If we are going to forbid anyone from getting married, let’s forbid starlets from marrying their co-stars after a 30-second engagement.

Or stop Paris Hilton from marrying anyone. I don’t think I could withstand the tabloid onslaught. The Jordan and Peter Andre circus is bad enough.

Some people have religious grounds for opposing gay marriage. I respect that. I’m not suggesting the Catholic Church, for example, change its doctrine to allow same-sex couples to marry. That is a battle for believers to fight with their faith.

But that is also why we have civil ceremonies – to let those of us who can’t, won’t or don’t want to walk down the aisle of a church to still have our shot at connubial bliss.

The road to a happy life is difficult in the best of circumstances and harder for anyone who has to face prejudice on a daily basis. So why not remove this one extra barrier?

Love, respect and commitment are the most important ingredients of a good relationship. Gender shouldn’t come into the mix.

Do you support gay marriages? Should they be allowed in WA?