Surely the conservative call for the freedom to spout offensive racist hate speech would be more convincing if it were matched by a similar call for the freedom to marry whomever you wished, regardless of gender, or the freedom to end your own life with dignity? Or is it that all freedoms are good, but some are better than others?
Sunil Badami Rozelle
Thursday:
In advocating for unfettered freedoms, Sunil Badami (Letters, March 5) does not go far enough. Why just advocate for freedom to marry whomever one wished, without also delimiting however many? Why should polygamists be denied legal access and rights to marriage in Australia? Lifting restrictions on polygamy will help do away with angst about adultery and extra-marital affairs, no?
Hendry Wan Rosebery
Friday:*
On marriage, Hendry Wan (Letters, March 6) makes a good point. We as a society need to determine whether marriage is a good thing for society or not. If the marriage between a man and a woman, the stability and trust it brings, including a secure place to nurture children, if this is truly a bad thing, we should do away with it holus bolus. Otherwise, we need to confess that the permutations, such as multiple marriages (either serial or concurrent) are in fact harmful and we need to redouble our efforts to defend marriage.
Douglas Fyfe Carlingford
*they probably won't publish it, but I thought I'd have a crack.
