Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Since same-sex marriage was legalised, Australians were promised that nothing would change. Years later, the evidence suggests that this promise was never true.

Nothing Was Going to Change… or Was That Just a Big, Fat Lie?

When LGBTIQA2SGMS+ activists sought to overturn the meaning of marriage, many people tried to warn everyone else about the obvious dangers of doing so. However, this was met with scorn and derision. I personally know of even some leaders in the Church declaring that such concerns were tantamount to Chicken Little’s hysterical cry of the “Sky Is Falling!”

Whenever you get a chance, watch the following short video on Disney’s original short cartoon Chicken Little, and you’ll understand not only how prophetic it was, but also the real historical danger it was warning against.

However, ‘Nothing is going to change,’ they said. ‘Except for the right of two people of the same sex to be able to love each other!’ I doubt whether there would be too many people around today who wouldn’t agree that the changes have not only been far-reaching, but also profoundly detrimental for society as a whole.

All of which shouldn’t really surprise us, for as Marsha Gessen, the lesbian political activist, brazenly told a Sydney Writers’ Festival in 2012:

Fighting for gay marriage generally involves lying about what we are going to do with marriage when we get there. Because we lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change. And that is a lie.

What follows then is a summary of just some of the things which I perceive have changed ever since the covenant of marriage was redefined into something which no civilisation in the history of the world has consistently celebrated or legally affirmed. Obviously, there were one or two anomalies to this, but significantly, their cultures failed to flourish, let alone survive.

You Must Wear the Ribbon!

Before same-sex marriage was ever a thing, comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld clearly understood what was just around the corner. Do you remember the sketch involving the character of Kramer, who was physically assaulted for not wearing the ribbon at an AIDS march? This was viewed as being funny back in the early 2000s, but no one would dare laugh out loud about it now…

The pressure to engage in performative public acts of political support for ‘Alphabet People’ — we have even categorised them as their own community or sub-group in society — has exploded exponentially since gay-marriage was has been legalised. In the space of one generation, homosexuality has gone from being a criminal offence, to a psychological disorder, to a valid moral choice, to being openly celebrated, to being repeatedly affirmed, to now being something of a protected species with its own set of blasphemy laws (i.e. ‘hate speech’ legislation).

D.E.I Affirmative Action

Following on from the previous point, to help address the perceived historic wrongs against the Alphabet People in the past, affirmative action policies have been put in place absolutely everywhere. However, everything from movies unashamedly preaching “the message”, to the Academy Awards, which have a criterion that includes the full spectrum of what it means to be ‘inclusive’, to the hiring of individuals in the workplace. Just this week, a Christian woman I know was forced out of her job as a dentist for not being willing to undergo the required LGBTIQ+ education and re-programming, I  mean, ‘training’!

Everywhere you look, D.E.I (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) practices are in full swing. But where these have been the most pronounced, though, has been in roles associated with ‘power’, such as the police force and especially the military. The examples which could be given here are simply too numerous to mention since, as the following video shows, under the Biden administration. You know you’ve reached “peak parody” when even gay people themselves are calling it out.

However, one of the most recent examples involved the sinking of a New Zealand survey ship — captained by a lesbian — which sank after hitting a reef off the coast of Samoa. As the transcripts from the time of the sinking demonstrate, this involved a person of, let’s just say, “questionable competency”, which is why she is now being charged. If you have no idea at all what I’m referring to, then just watch the following video — although please be warned: while it is incredibly funny, it does contain vulgar language.

Homosexual Marriages have Statistically Decreased

As far back as July 2017, I published an article in The Spectator Australia, pointing out how the promise of an economic boom as a result of same-sex marriage being legalised was clearly false. Since then, my thesis that after the initial euphoria of same-sex marriage being legalised, there would be a steady statistical decline has proven to be pretty accurate. Just consider the following statistical summary from the Australian Institute of Family Studies:

Obviously, the number of marriages peaked in 2018, the first full year of legalisation, due to a backlog of long-term couples waiting for the right to marry. Then COVID-19 hit, and subsequently, everyone’s ability to get married was disrupted, and in some places in Australia, even forbidden from occurring. However, the long-term trend—statistically speaking—has been that the total number of marriages between couples of the same sex is becoming less and less popular.

It’s also worth noting how the above statistical snapshot does not include the number of same-sex couples who have subsequently been divorced. This figure alone is not insignificant, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics recording that for 2024, the most recent full statistical reporting year, a total of 760 divorces were granted to same-gender or gender-diverse couples.

The Decline in Marriage Overall

Sadly, the trend of marriage rates being in decline or not being viewed as a sacred life-long commitment is true across the board. In this sense, the legalisation of same-sex marriage was something of a symptom of a broader problem rather than a case. A brief statistical snapshot for Australia reveals how what sociologists are referring to now as the “deinstitutionalisation of marriage”. This can be summarised under four main points:

First, the number of de facto relationships has tripled since the 1980s. Back in 1986, de facto partnerships accounted for just 6% of all couple relationships. By 2001, this number had doubled to 12%. Then, in 2016, the proportion rose even further to 18%. Until today, approximately 20% (or 1 in 5) couples in Australia are currently live in a de facto relationship rather than a registered marriage.

Second, the new societal norm is no longer marriage by cohabitation, which was reflective of even Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, who was living in the lodge with his girlfriend long before deciding to be married. The reason why this was not viewed as being a scandal — like just a few short years ago it would have been — was because whereas in 1992, approximately 56% of couples lived together before they married, today that number is more like 81%. In short, more than 4 out of 5 weddings involve couples who were already living together.

Third, about fifty years ago, the marriage rate in Australia was about 13 marriages per 1,000 adults. Today, that figure has plummeted to 5.5 marriages per 1,000 adults.

Four, as more and more couples delay getting married, pursuing things such as higher education, travelling overseas and establishing their “financial individualisation”, the average age of first marriage has risen from the early 1990s by roughly 5 years. This means that the current median age for getting married is 32.8 years for men and 31.2 years for women. The biological clock is ticking, but nobody seems to really care.

Marriage vs Homonormativity

It’s probably apposite at this point to recall that there were a number of LGBTIQ+ people themselves who were publicly outspoken in their opposition to same-sex marriage. This is because they view marriage as the ‘heteronormative’ institution—which in and of itself they were opposed to and rejected—from the very beginning. For instance, the feminist, lesbian academic from RMIT in Melbourne, Dr Caroline Norma, wrote:

A “no” vote in the postal plebiscite by all right-minded citizens is crucial for turning this ship around, and bringing back to Australian public life the sparky radicalism of lesbians and gays not so eager to reflect back to heterosexuals their own image tediously magnified.

With only approximately 5% of same-sex couples deciding to get married (not including the 2,400 registered divorces among same-sex couples between 2021 and 2024) one doesn’t have to be a rocket-scientists to see how Caroline Norma was right. Most same-sex couples do not want to married as it is really not in keeping with the ‘free love’ of the gay lifestyle.

In short, the exclusive and life-long covenant of marriage is one of the central tenants of a society which is heteronormative. What better way to introduce ‘homonormativity’ then, than by reordering what it means from the inside out.

The Rights of Children Have Been Abandoned

When Katy Faust came to Australia in September 2017, I had the privilege of organising an interview with her whilst she was in Sydney. Katy exploded onto the public stage as an outspoken advocate for the rights of children, and her words of warning have proven over and over (and over again!) to be true.

I recently went back and watched the above video, which I had recorded, and was blown away at how, now, almost ten years later, Katy’s insight has proven to be prescient.

I know that you’ve been told that this is simply an issue of love, that “love-is-love”, and to that I’d say, yeah you’re right! Our gay and lesbian friends have the same capacity to love and commit as heterosexuals do. But here’s the problem. This is not just about love.

Every place that gay marriage has been redefined, children’s rights have been sacrificed. When you redefine marriage you redefine parenthood. When you make husbands and wives optional, fathers and mothers become legally optional as well. The problem is that in a child’s life mothers and fathers are never optional and in this debate children are not being given a voice.

Katy’s website ThemBeforeUs.com tells story after story of children, as well as presenting study after study, on why gay marriage has been so detrimental to children. In reviewing the academic literature, which claims that there is no difference between children raised in same-sex families and those by their biological parents, it was found that they “… often used poor methodology (non-random samples, parental (self) reporting vs. actual child outcomes, and were short in duration to reach their conclusions.”

In short, there were three main problems with these so-called objective, scientific studies, particularly in early LGBTIQ+ parenting research:

First, the participants were aware that the purpose was to investigate same-sex parenting and may have biased their responses in order to produce the desired result.

Second, participants were recruited through networks of friends or through advocacy organisations, resulting in a sample of same-sex parents of higher socioeconomic status than is typical of parents in a same-sex relationship generally.

Third, on average, samples of fewer than 40 children of parents in a same-sex relationship virtually guaranteed findings of no statistically significant differences between groups.

Commercial Surrogacy Has Become More Mainstream

One of the greatest bogeymen employed against Christians in the public square has been the dystopian feminist novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale. The work has become something of a modern cultural phenomenon, with the book proving to be influential amongst young people in particular, as it is a prescribed text in most high schools, as well as being made into a popular TV series freely streamed on platforms such as SBS. One only has to see a woman today in a red robe with a white hood and the message is crystal clear – warning, theocratic Christian misogynist ahead!

But is Christian nationalism the real enemy here, or is it actually gay marriage? The sexual union between two people of the same sex is inherently sterile, biologically speaking. Hence, the only way around this is to not only introduce the egg or sperm of another person outside the relationship, but also to introduce another woman to act as a third party.

If you don’t understand what the basic problems with surrogacy are, I would encourage you to watch the following interview. It’s a little long but definitely worthy of the investment of your time (Hot Tip: Try listening to podcast interviews on 1.5 speed and get your life back).

Gender Has Been All But Obliterated

Millie Fontana called out the true goal of gay marriage ten years ago when she observed that it wasn’t about gender equality but rather the obliteration of gender altogether. Ms Fontana’s might have seemed hyperbolic back then, but approximately ten years later, everyone is taking her warning seriously.

Ironically, it was Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female Prime Minister, who will go down in history as the one responsible for the debacle we are all now witnessing. This is because in 2013, the Gillard Labor Government amended the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to add sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status as protected attributes.

However, there is some hope that this injustice might be overturned — although I wouldn’t hold your breath — in the coming weeks when Alison Penfold, the Nationals’ MP for Lyon, seeks to introduce a private member’s bill into the federal parliament.

The recent incidents involving Sall Grover’s case, “Giggle vs Tickle” (you really can’t make this stuff up), not to mention the other just as absurd cases of Kirralie Smith and Moira Deeming, are all glaring examples of why the law needs to change. But this is not just about the rights of women, but of biological men too, who want the freedom to be able to enjoy single-sex spaces. While other countries are not far behind, Australia has quickly become an international laughingstock and a world leader in progressive politics.

If same-sex marriage hadn’t happened, then it’s almost certain Western civilisation wouldn’t be living through the current crisis involving gender confusion today. A scientific reality so obvious that it really is as basic as being able to tell one’s right hand from their left (see Jonah 4:11).

The Rise of Militant Islam

While there are lots of other aspects I could have included, one which I don’t think many people consider is the rise of totalitarian religious movements such as Islam. With the decline of traditional sexual morality around the world and the Pandora’s box of progressive possibilities now on full display, we are seeing something of a pendulum swing in the opposite direction.

There used to be a meme on social media that went, “This is why the Muslims hate us”. It was presented as a shocking joke involving Western absurdities or niche subcultures being the “real” reason for anti-Western sentiment, rather than geopolitical issues. While it’s not politically correct to even ask the question anymore, there is little doubt as to its veracity, especially amongst Muslims.

People who have migrated to the West for a better life economically are routinely appalled at the sexual depravity they routinely see being presented. Even in our own culture, people are being attracted to totalitarian expressions of religion because of its affirmation regarding moral absolutes in a world where there basically are none.

Don’t Bow Down to the Golden Rainbow Image

A friend of mine on social media pointed out recently how Australian law today can be summarised by a quote from Lewis Carroll, in his classic children’s story Alice in Wonderland:

“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

Sadly, we have become a nation where words have not only all but lost their meaning, but due to the ‘chilling effect’ brought in through gay marriage, most people are too afraid to speak the truth. As in that other children’s fable, The Emperor Has No Clothes, even when we see the naked stupidity of someone else’s view, very few people have the courage to call it out.

What’s happened in Australia since gay marriage? In short, only everything that really matters or is morally important. Our entire culture as a civilisation has been basically cooked. The sky may not have literally fallen in, but we have all but lost the ability to perceive the danger when it’s there. There was once a time when even Walt Disney was able to warn of the threats to come, but as we’ve all seen with especially them, that time has sadly passed.

The challenge for Christians today is the same as it was for God’s people when they were in exile in Babylon. Whenever a veritable orchestra of musical instruments were played, they were told to bow down to the golden image, or else. This is exactly where we all are again today. Except this time, the image has every colour of the rainbow connected to it. Whatever they threaten will happen to us if we do not, we cannot bow down to their image, but must continue to worship God alone.