A big YES from Australians and the health industry on same sex marriage
Following on from the recent survey on same sex marriage, the marriage equality bill will be introduced into the House of Representatives on Monday 4th December.
The Australian Psychological Society (APS), Australian Medical Association (AMA), and Australian Nursing Midwifery Federation (ANMF) strongly welcomed the momentous day the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey resulted in a major win for the LGBT community and same sex marriage advocators.
The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) from September 12 to November 7 identified that 61.6% of 12,691,234 million eligible participants answered YES to the question “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”
Both the AMA and APS cited that the rationale behind their decision to say yes to end the discrimination and inequality towards LGBT community is the valuable evidence of mental and physiological health implications caused by unacceptance and discrimination of LGBT members.
AMA President Dr Michael Gannon said, “There are evidence-based health implications arising from discrimination. Discrimination has a severe, damaging impact on mental and physiological health outcomes.
“People who identify as LGBTIQ experience substantially poorer mental and physiological health outcomes than the broader population. They are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviours such as illicit drug use or alcohol abuse, and have the highest rates of suicidality of any population group in Australia.”
APS President Anthony Cichello said, “While the outcome is welcomed, many people have been subject to physical and/or psychological abuse by the process of the debate and it is important that we work to heal the rift in our community, and particularly ensure that those directly affected by the outcomes of the vote are supported.
The ANMF also supported the idea of discrimination and inequality among gender in Australia causing an unwanted division in the community. ANMF Federal Secretary Lee Thomas said:
“Unfortunately, the plebiscite has created deep division within the community and as health care professionals; we acknowledge the compelling research that shows that members of the LGBTI community suffer poorer health outcomes, compared to others, as a result of discrimination.
While same sex marriage advocates and the LGBT community are celebrating this historical event, all organizations are urging the Parliament to follow up on the postal survey results and act on the conception of a law that legalizes same sex marriage in Australia.
AMA President Dr Michael Gannon said that the Federal Parliament must now heed the overwhelming message from the Australian people and legislate for marriage equality. He also encouraged Australians to respect the rights of LBGTIQ (lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender, intersex, queer, and questioning) people, their families, and friends.
ANMF Federal Secretary Lee Thomas also said, “The result of the plebiscite has shown that Australians have given our politicians a clear message – it’s time they listen to the Australian people and enact marriage equality.”
APS President Anthony Cichello expressed his agreement and said, “The APS urges that same-sex marriage be legalised by a vote of Parliament as soon as possible.”
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