Senator who ‘threatened to disown’ a gay son is now a proud equal marriage supporter
A Senator who once said he would disown a child who came out as gay has explained how he became a firm supporter of equal marriage.
Australian Senator Ricky Muir, who represents the niche Motoring Enthusiast Party, spoke candidly about his evolving views on the issue, as politicians go under the microscope.
Last week, the Senate urged Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull to commit to a free Parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage, rather than stall the issue through a lengthy public voting process.
Speaking to ABC’s Kitchen Cabinet, the Senator for Victoria opened up about how his own family helped change his mind.
He said: ” My view has not always been this way… I did have very opposing views to what I have now, but that’s because of ‘monkey see, monkey do’.
“You grow a up certain way, you’re told certain things, you go with it.”
Explaining how a conversation with his wife sparked his U-turn, he said: “We were having that debate, and I can’t even remember what my argument was but I tell you now it was weak!
“She said to me, ‘what if your son was to turn out to be gay?’… my answer was, ‘I’ll disown him’.
“The look on her face was just absolute sheer disgust. I thought: that’s a really bad thing to say.”
The Senator explained that after the realisation about his own views, he attempted to dissect the cause of them.
He said: “I decided in that moment – I wasn’t actually a religious person – but it was views of religion that I had been raised with or around that was making me say that, making me have that view.
“I thought, I think I’m better off turning my attention to the emotions of people I know who exist, who are right in front of me and I actually know!”
He added: “My [new] theory is if I’m respectful of other people’s decisions, with luck they’ll be respectful of mine.”
Watch the clip below:
