Kerre Woodham: Let's leave it to God

When I was 11 there was a boy at my school in Waihi who we all loved. He was handsome, and kind, and funny and somehow not like the other boys. And therein of course was the rub. Instinctively we knew that while we could be best friends with him, we would never be girlfriends.

The concept of someone being gay or homosexual had yet to be explained to us - these were gentler times - but we all knew. And it didn't matter. I was Cinderella to his Prince Charming in the school production and he was the best prince a girl could have had. He's still handsome and kind and funny, and I refuse to believe that his is somehow a lesser life, despite the attempts of Bible bashers to convince me otherwise.

If people put the same energy into stopping violence in the home as they are into the fight against the Civil Union Bill, the world would be an infinitely better place. Watching politicians prostituting their consciences for votes is a particularly unattractive spectacle.

To know in your heart of hearts that gays are entitled to the same civil rights as everyone else, and yet then vote against the Civil Union Bill for contorted political reasons, is downright ugly.

Sure the Bible mentions that homosexuality is a sin, but it's ranked alongside fornication, drunkenness, and a host of other sins. Are fornicators and drunkards going to be denied some of their civil rights as well? And since when were church and state joined at the hip?

If gay couples want to commit to each other, what business is it of anyone else's? If you believe that it's a sin against God, then why not leave it to the big guy upstairs to sort it out come Judgement Day? Surely prejudice, intolerance and an unhealthy prurient fascination with sodomy are more dangerous than people who just happen to love each other.