Rainbows Over Sunrise

It's common knowledge now that Sunrise has teamed with Marie Claire and GetUp! in support of Same Sex Marriage. It's almost as well known that Australian Christian Lobby is exploding in a small fiery ball of self-righteous homophobia at the thought of a major television show supporting something they spend their entire lives fighting against.

Good on them, I say! We don't hear nearly enough from Jim Wallace, Lyle Shelton and Wendy Francis about how private, consenting relationships between two adults who happen to be of the same sex can do irrevocable ... something something ... Oh, won't somebody think of the children?

In truth, I'm in favour of looking after the children too, and I'd volunteer to babysit hoards of them before I'd let the folks from the ACL anywhere near one. There. I said it.

But back to today's ACL campaign, designed to ensure that the Governments - both State and Federal -  aren't influenced by anyone or anything other than the Christian Right, and perhaps Big Mining. That's fine; it's their job, and they do it well. Those skills should come in handy they try to talk their way through the Pearly Gates. Somehow, I think their greeting might not be what they expect.

Anyway, the ACL's website includes the following paragraphs, which I'll include here so you don't have to go there:  

That a TV current affairs show, let alone TV station, should take sides in such a highly contentious issue in the public square is disgraceful.  What it says for the respect they have for alternative opinion, even our values, is extremely disappointing and we need to register our disappointment.

This comes at a strategic time in the debate, so please spend a minute to fill out the Sunrise comments section at this link to make your comment, but please do it now 

You might:

Ask them what you are supposed to think this action means for their respect and even tolerance of your views and values on an issue that  goes to the very heart of family and the flourishing of children;

Ask why Sunrise has decided it’s a ‘human rights issue’ when the Australian Government has removed discrimination in 84 laws in 2008 and when the European Court of Human Rights ruled in March that same-sex marriage is not a human right

Register your disgust that the press, supposedly the neutral umpire and facilitator of public debate, should allow itself to be captured by the propaganda machine of the gay lobby; and

If you’re so convicted, you might advise them that you do not propose to watch the show again.

Also, please consider sending an email to Sunrise’s partners sharing your concerns about the television show. They include Purina, The Coffee Club, Accor Hotels, Myer and Jetstar.

Bully for the ACL,  who are without doubt the least Christian group of any Christian group this side of the Vatican. Remember though, they are not a Christian Church; they are a political lobby group, with all the Christian grace and generosity of spirit that you'd expect from a political lobby group. Their anti-gay stance is as steadfast as it is bewildering.

Meanwhile the rest of us are signing our petitions and sending letters of support to Sunrise and their advertisers. Thanks again to the ACL for including that list on their website, along with the helpful Sunrise Feedback link! Yes, we're that clever!

At the other end of the spectrum, the official GetUp Petition to thank Sunrise was closing in on 30,000 signatures at the time of writing this. Here's GetUp!'s blurb:  

Yesterday we announced that Sunrise are getting behind the campaign to stop marriage discrimination. This morning they woke up to a campaign backed by the Australian Christian Lobby denouncing their decision.

The Sunrise team went out on a limb and others who might be thinking about backing this campaign will be watching how this situation unfolds. Can you let the team know they have our support by adding your name to the thank you card on the left?

You know how I feel about the ACL's hate campaign against the LGBT community. Please take a look at the two perspectives above, and consider which one is deliberately divisive, which one is promoting fear and distrust, which one is more Christian.