DREADRADIO: John Heard On JoyFM 'Allegro Non Troppo' - Marriage & The Family, Proposition 8, California, Black Voters, Christian Marriage

:: Update ::

DREADNOUGHT spoke for marriage and the family (and, at times, against "gay marriage") as a special guest on the JoyFM radio Allegro Non Troppo program.

:: What Good Is Equality? ::

DREADNOUGHT was joined by Stephen, the co-convenor of a local homoactivist lobby group (VGLRL). The discussion took in general issues relating to voters' religious faith, the social / cultural history of marriage, the way marriage is rendered (in Australia, and in the United States) as against various legislative arrangements (civil unions, relationship registers), the fact that there is a broad bipartisan consensus in support of marriage and the family (particularly in places like California), and what we might do to ensure that loving, committed, worthy relationships are encouraged.

:: The Details ::

The show went live to air (94.9FM radio / satellite / online stream) at these times:

- (EDT) Saturday 8 November at 9:00pm - 10:00pm;

- (PDT) Saturday 8 November at 6:00pm - 7:00pm; and

- (AU EDST) Sunday 9 November at 12:00pm - 1:00pm.

:: What Good Is Equality? ::

DREADNOUGHT was keen to interrogate the notion that "equality" (at law, in general) is always a good in itself. Obviously, it cannot be everywhere desirable, a reasonable claim that is made obvious when one considers that no man wants to be treated as (equally) badly as someone else.

:: A Compelling Witness ::

I was also interested in the fact that 73% of black voters in California, the same people who voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, voted for Proposition 8. Those who have suffered under daily human rights abuses, and respected activists who know something worthwhile and immediate about the struggle for real civil rights, have added their voices to those who seek to defend and celebrate marriage and the family. This was a key point.

:: Shams, Strangers & Sugar Daddies ::

We also discussed the fact (revealed on a homoactivist website that was mentioned during the show) that some schemes allow complete strangers, or those who are merely financially interdependent (the so-called "sugar daddy clause") to register "gay marriages", or pseudo-relationships. Where these people receive some or all of the benefits of marriage, the system is manifestly unjust. Treating short-term, cynical, or sham relationships (immigration fraud was briefly mentioned) as somehow "equal" to enduring, procreative, conjugal marriages sends precisely the wrong kind of message (I spoke of a "mom" and "dad", together for forty years, who raised a brood of kids by sacrificing, and battling).

:: The Political Center ::

Voters in Australia, and in the United States (and elsewhere) have seen what happens when we weaken the family, and dilute the definition of marriage. The social science is compelling, and the recent social / cultural history of the English-speaking West is - in many cases - a story of broken families, drug / alcohol / child abuse, and welfare tragedies. Voters demand better than that, and citizens deserve better leadership.

:: The Upshot ::

DREADNOUGHT welcomed this latest opportunity to couch the many arguments against "gay marriage" in the appropriate terms. Let us (all of us) move, together, into a more hopeful future. Full podcast to come.

:: Resources ::

- Is "Gay Marriage" a Human Rights Issue?

- "Gays Don't Want Marriage" in the Herald Sun;

- The Case for Marriage; and

- DREADNOUGHT On Financial (Retirement Fund) Self-Determination.

* (DREADNOUGHT distances himself from on-air comments made by another guest, who spoke inappropriately and offensively about the nature of US politics, US political leaders, and American voters).