Same-Sex Marriage, Same Stupid Argument ... Even An Eight-year-old Knows Better

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Abbey who lived in Oz … Oztralia … Australia … and she has two gay uncles in Melbourne, who had to travel to New Zealand to be married. Her uncles, Michael Barnett and Gregory Storer, are set to appear in a TV series in which they will live for one week with David, a conservative Anglican priest who is anti-marriage-equality, and when Abbey heard about the show, she began writing to Aussie Prime Minister Tony Abbott about same-sex marriage …

To Tony Abbott

my name is Abbey and I am 8 years old.

My unkls are gaye and we had to go to New Zeland to have ther wedding it is going to be on TV it's called Living with the Enemy they wont to get marred in Astralea but thats eligle

I will write to you once a day for a week.

P.S. I wold like the law changed.

Me, too, Abbey, me, too. I would like the law changed everywhere.

To Tony Abbott

I would like my uncles to be able to get married in Australia.

Gay marriage is no different to any other marriage because its only about love and nothing else.

I would like the law changed

from

Abbey

Age 8

Out of the mouths of babes … “it’s only about love and nothing else.”

To Tony Abbot

I'm just reminding you that I'm writing to you once a day for a week because I would like the law changed. So that gay people can get married.

Abbey age 8

.... 

To Tony Abbott

this is the 4th letter I am writing to you about gay marriage.

I haven't had a reply from you yet so when you have time please write back. I know it's hard running a country. I would love it if you wrote back

Will you change your mind about gay marriage?

from

Abbey

.... 

To Tony Abbott

Change is normally for the best. It's okay to make a change to laws and the way you think.

from Abbey

.... 

To Tony Abbott

I only have one more letter to you. I would absolutely love it if you would change the law about gay marriage.

from Abbey.

.... 

To Tony Abbott

This is my last letter I've loved writing to you Gay marriage is what my uncles should have the right to do :)

Please, please change the law :)

And finally, after a week of Abbey’s letters, Tony Abbott responded …

Dear Abbey,

Thank you for letting me know your views on same-sex marriage. I appreciate you letting me know about your own family. In my family, I have a sister with a female partner. My sister’s partner is a loved member of our family. While I respect your views on same sex marriage, I hold a different view. My personal position is to support the existing definition of marriage. The Government supports the current definition of marriage contained in the Marriage Act. Any change to this policy would be a matter for the Coalition Party Room. Thank you again for writing to me. I wish you well in the future.

 Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Isn’t it funny? To an eight-year-old it’s just love; to an eight-year-old it’s okay to change your mind; to an eight-year-old change is best.

But, to Tony Abbott, who claims to love his sister and her partner, it’s best to let things just stand; let same-sex couples be less than; let your sister feel inequality.

Too bad Tony Abbott, and so many others all around the world, can’t take a moment and think like an eight-year-old girl.

The world might be a much better place.

source

letter photos courtesy of Bilerico

Architecture Wednesday: The Shipping Container House

This is the Shipping Container House, comprised of 31 21-foot shipping containers stacked three stories high to create a 6,000 square foot, four bedroom, four bathroom home.

Stretched over three levels it features an open plan first floor with kitchen, living and dining spaces, and three bedrooms on the second floor and the master bedroom taking the entire third level. There is a reading room--in my house we call that a bathroom, but in this house it's its own room; a rumpus room--it's been a while since I rumpused; a study, art study, home office, workshop, gym and a saltwater pool.

It's rustic, industrial, urban and chic, designed to incorporate the industrial look of the containers--graffiti and all--along with warm woods, interesting angles and soaring voids. 

I always wanted to be a hobo and sleep in a boxcar, but now as a homo, maybe I just need a boxcar house?

Source

Ian Thorpe Comes Out

"I've thought about this for a long time. I'm not straight. Um, and this is only something that only very recently — we’re talking in the last two weeks — I’ve felt comfortable telling the closest people around me. Exactly that."

And with that, after years of speculation, rumor, questions, guesses, dreams, Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe came out as gay.

And I say, Good for him. Some people were annoyed that he’d spent years denying his sexual orientation, going so far as to write quite plainly in a memoir, ‘I am not gay,’ but we should not judge when people come out, how they come out, or how long it takes. It’s a personal journey that, while it may have the same destination, is a completely different path for each of us.

"I'm comfortable saying I'm a gay man. And I don't want people to feel the same way I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay."

That’s all that need be said. He’s battled the gossip, he’s battled the speculation, he’s battled depression, all of which make coming out more difficult, but one thing he has, that a lot of gay folks don’t have, no matter when they say the words, is support, from family, friends, and, especially, the LGBT community.

"I was concerned about the reaction from my family, my friends. I'm pleased to say that in telling them, and especially my parents, they told me that they love me and they support me. And for young people out there, know that that's usually what the answer is."

I read on Facebook, where some folks called it a brave step — and coming out, again, no matter who you are or when you do it, is a brave step — that others were annoyed that Ian hadn’t been truthful in the past. But again, walk in his shoes, live his life, battle his demons, and then tell me it wasn’t brave.

"What happened was, I felt that the lie had become so big that I didn't want people to question my integrity and a little bit of ego comes into this. I didn't want people to think that I had lied about everything."

Again, it’s done, and you can say “Finally,” or you can simply say, “Welcome out.” What you cannot, or should not, is denigrate him for not coming out sooner. It's his journey and all we should do as a community is be thankful and grateful and welcoming.

And offer up a copy of The Gay Agenda and the Obligatory Coming Out Toaster Oven and the thought that now, finally, Ian Thorpe can take a breath and finally be himself.

And that’s the bravest thing of all.

Welcome out, Ian, welcome out. 

Read the full transcript of the interview HERE.