"prior to a psychiatric plebescite in 1973, homosexuality was considered to be a mental disorder, and it was listed in the pre-1973 DSM as such. Since that vote, homosexuality is no longer seen by psychologists and psychiatrists as a mental illness [[[sexual orientation]]]"
See Article -
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery...+of+Mental+Disorders&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc05b *
To live in Australia is to accept people from all walks of life. Obviously there is a limit to whom the society should accept. This limit is stipulated by our laws. Nowhere is there a law against Homosexuality. There are however laws against rape, murder, paedophilia etc. So you can safely assume we do not accept such people in society.
Without trying to spark more religious debate, religion really has no relevance to Homosexuality in Australia or Civil Unions (NOT marriages). Religions only link to Homosexuality and Homosexual acts is through the Individual and the Institution which harbours the respective beliefs (ie: The Church).
Same-sex attraction should be tolerated and accepted as a nation. In the event something like this were to happen, accepting it or rejecting it (as an individual) will make you no better, or no worse of a person. It is all about eliminating prejudice and promoting equality.
I believe at one point, the world saw Native Australians, and also others native to their lands, as being abominations of nature. You need to remember, we are always afraid of things we do not understand. We have though, grown to accept people from others cultures and ethnic backgrounds. We have grown to treat them as equals (the quest still continues, but we have made significant progress). Historically, the world has grown to accept new things, new ways of life. Soon then, will same-sex attraction be accepted and tolerated in society. Remember, society does not reflect the belief of EVERY individual.
To those who do not agree with Homosexuality, I do not ask you to simply change your minds. In order though, for you to be completely fair in your judgements, it is recommended you do some extensive reading on the subject, and all relevant topics. This includes; homosexuality and religion, homosexuality and mental illness, homosexuality in nature and homosexuality: nature vs nurture. If you want links to some good articles, I am sure I could dig through the archives and find some.
NOTE: I have tried to be as consistent with my argument as I felt I could be. I tried not to go into unnecessary detail which may become catalyst for more heated discussion. Feel free to criticise, agree or expand on anything I have said.
*(I wanted to make some words bold and add links, but HTML coding didn't work. Could someone inform me of the proper way to do it on this forum? Thanks)