By Paul Dobbyn
COMPANIES funding advertisements in support of same-sex marriage have been challenged to also fund a newspaper advertisement supporting the equal right of a child to a mother and father.
Australian Marriage Forum president, Toowoomba general practitioner Dr David van Gend, made the call in his Letter to CEOs and Directors: On your support for same-sex marriage.
The letter opens with the statement: “Marriage gives every child a mother and a father; same-sex marriage makes it impossible for a child to be raised by both their mother and their father.”
Brisbane’s John Paul II Centre for Family and Life director Dr Ray Campbell and Australian Christian Lobby managing director Lyle Shelton are among others questioning the current wave of support amongst some business people for the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
More than 100 large and medium-sized companies recently took out a full-page advertisement in The Australian newspaper supporting same-sex marriage.
“When there are so many examples of genuine social injustice in Australia, one has to wonder why a large number of companies choose to add their voice to such a divisive campaign as that for same-sex marriage,” Dr Campbell said.
“This is not an issue of social injustice, but a fundamental disagreement about the nature of marriage.
“Do these companies realise that they are saying to their many employees and customers that they do not respect their marriage, traditional marriage, but want to substitute it for something else?
“Have they considered the genuine injustice they are advocating towards all those people who have entered into state-sanctioned traditional marriage, and now see that institution under threat?
“Is this really a use of ‘corporate power’ for the common good, or is it something else?”
Mr Shelton said businesses campaigning for same-sex marriage “risked marginalising staff and millions of customers who support the timeless definition of marriage”.
Australia’s Catholic bishops recently issued a pastoral letter, Don’t Mess With Marriage, to parishes around the nation as the push for same-sex marriage legislation continued.
