On Thursday 16 February 2012, the Selection Committee asked the Committee to inquire into and report on the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2012 and the Marriage Amendment Bill 2012. One of the things being considered are the views of the community–and as such, every one of us needs to speak up and share our stories and views. As my friend Dan Whitthaus found on his national tour of Australia, homophobia is a very real concern for Australia as a society, and the benefits of combating it are backed up by scientific research. Not only would it decrease the amount we spend on mental health, it would also have a marked impact on bullying, boost our economy–and possibly tourism–and perhaps most importantly, stop Canadians being able to call us a country of backwards homophobic bigots.
Of course, the first people to jump on board have been everyone from the homophobic right, and for the sake of our collective mental health, we all need to take action now. So if you do nothing else, please take 5 minutes to go and take the online survey and give your feedback to the committee and tell them why equality is so important. So stop reading my site and go on over. Go. Now. Right now.
