Another step
Well I suppose it is worthy of an entry, especially considering some of the reasons I started this journal.
I'm referring to Tuesday in parliament when the "Gay Marriage Bill" passed it's first and probably largest hurdle, with a substantial 400:175 vote in favour.
It had been dominating the news for the previous 48 hours, and now, 48 hours later, everything has moved on to the next news story: "Politician lies" (what's new); "Beef Lasagne was 100% horsemeat" (won't be buying that brand again).
My view in the run up was that I was not particularly bothered either way, but when I heard the result announced live on TV news, I did well up just a tiny bit. A sigh of acceptance. Another step.
For many of my gay friends this particular step was not a major campaigning issue. Most of us had been born at a time when homosexuality was illegal, it still was in Scotland when I left to go to college, and something of a taboo issue. Since the turn of the century we have seen equality make major steps forward; equalisation of the age of consent; protection against being dismissed from a job because of being gay; and then civil partnerships - less than eight years ago. All have helped, to some measure, normalise gay people in the eyes of the general public - at least for the younger generations. It has made my process of coming out all the more easy.
For my friends, civil partnerships were warmly received, a step more than many had ever hoped to see. Many actually preferred to have something slightly different from the marriages they had grown up amongst. Of my own age group, the few most keen for equal marriage have often been those with strong religious convictions. It is the younger generation of gay people who have been most vocally in favour, stressing the need for full equality, and even then there have been dissenters. I heard three media interviews with gay men in the hours running up to the vote where the interviewer was clearly surprised that the gay interviewees appreciated equality and civil partnerships but didn't really want marriage.
So why did it go through? Why did the PM face splitting his own party in two over introducing a vote that was supported mainly by the opposition parties? A vote that did not have the entire gay community clamouring for it. Politics I guess. He saw the demographics, the acceptance in the younger generations, and realised that he'd have to risk losing the older generation of his supporters to lose his party's "nasty" tag, the part linked to homophobia. That way he stood a chance of getting some support from younger generations at the next election, and he was getting this out of the way well beforehand.
And how have my friends responded? I went out for a drink with a lesbian couple on Tuesday evening, we were in a mixed group, and the issue was not mentioned... at all. My swimming companions and I had our usual pint last night, and did raise our glasses to the news, but soon moved on. I hope we don't take our new freedoms for granted. There could still be a backlash, there is still homophobia and hate crime, and many parts of the world still have it a whole lot worse. But I'm fortunate to live in what is now one of the most accepting countries, and thankful that the steps still all seem to be in the right direction.
I'm referring to Tuesday in parliament when the "Gay Marriage Bill" passed it's first and probably largest hurdle, with a substantial 400:175 vote in favour.
It had been dominating the news for the previous 48 hours, and now, 48 hours later, everything has moved on to the next news story: "Politician lies" (what's new); "Beef Lasagne was 100% horsemeat" (won't be buying that brand again).
My view in the run up was that I was not particularly bothered either way, but when I heard the result announced live on TV news, I did well up just a tiny bit. A sigh of acceptance. Another step.
For many of my gay friends this particular step was not a major campaigning issue. Most of us had been born at a time when homosexuality was illegal, it still was in Scotland when I left to go to college, and something of a taboo issue. Since the turn of the century we have seen equality make major steps forward; equalisation of the age of consent; protection against being dismissed from a job because of being gay; and then civil partnerships - less than eight years ago. All have helped, to some measure, normalise gay people in the eyes of the general public - at least for the younger generations. It has made my process of coming out all the more easy.
For my friends, civil partnerships were warmly received, a step more than many had ever hoped to see. Many actually preferred to have something slightly different from the marriages they had grown up amongst. Of my own age group, the few most keen for equal marriage have often been those with strong religious convictions. It is the younger generation of gay people who have been most vocally in favour, stressing the need for full equality, and even then there have been dissenters. I heard three media interviews with gay men in the hours running up to the vote where the interviewer was clearly surprised that the gay interviewees appreciated equality and civil partnerships but didn't really want marriage.
So why did it go through? Why did the PM face splitting his own party in two over introducing a vote that was supported mainly by the opposition parties? A vote that did not have the entire gay community clamouring for it. Politics I guess. He saw the demographics, the acceptance in the younger generations, and realised that he'd have to risk losing the older generation of his supporters to lose his party's "nasty" tag, the part linked to homophobia. That way he stood a chance of getting some support from younger generations at the next election, and he was getting this out of the way well beforehand.
And how have my friends responded? I went out for a drink with a lesbian couple on Tuesday evening, we were in a mixed group, and the issue was not mentioned... at all. My swimming companions and I had our usual pint last night, and did raise our glasses to the news, but soon moved on. I hope we don't take our new freedoms for granted. There could still be a backlash, there is still homophobia and hate crime, and many parts of the world still have it a whole lot worse. But I'm fortunate to live in what is now one of the most accepting countries, and thankful that the steps still all seem to be in the right direction.