Garth George: Homosexual lobby poised to confront the last bastion

Irrespective of whether the Civil Union Bill passes its second reading today the homosexual lobby's steamroller will not be stopped.

The public relations campaign aimed at the acceptance of homosexuals and the homosexual lifestyle as "normal" has been going on for nearly 40 years and it has to be said that it has been the most outstandingly successful example of spin-doctoring in the history of mankind.

Ever since the decriminalisation of homosexual activity the PR machine has been building momentum and its achievements have been extraordinary.

That is not surprising. Homosexuals define their very being by their sexuality. Homosexual is who and what they are, first, last and always, be they male or female.

And when you are fighting for the acceptance and advancement of your very self, you put everything you have into it - body, mind, soul and substance.

Thus, within a few decades of coming out of the closet, homosexuals are to be found in all areas of life.

They are in positions of influence in all the mainline churches, all the professions, in the media, the justice system and law enforcement, healthcare, education, Government agencies (human rights, censorship, Aids), and state bureaucracies in general.

And in comparatively recent years homosexuals have been elected to the legislatures, not just of New Zealand but of countries all over the world.

Yet all the best and most objective evidence suggests that they compose a maximum of 2 per cent, and probably less, of the population, in this country at least.

It is an astounding story of success for what was a seriously disadvantaged minority group and just goes to show what can be achieved by single-minded effort, sacrifice and perseverance.

The only other movement which has had similar success is the Maori compensation campaign and, interestingly, there are parallels between the two: both have unashamedly used the "poor us, we're victims" strategy; and both have developed the instinctive and immediate defence against criticism of plastering opponents with non-politically-correct labels.

If you question the "normality" of homosexuality, you are automatically a homophobe; if you argue against Maori "rights", you are a racist.

Which helps to explain why public polling has invariably suggested that a majority of ordinary New Zealanders agree with the Civil Union Bill.

Most people seem to be terrified of being thought to lack "tolerance" or "acceptance" or any number of other nonsensical buzzwords (including homophobe and racist) that infect our society, the real meanings of which have long been lost in the miasma of an anything-goes mindset.

As I have said before, I am prepared to bet a year's pay that if the Civil Union Bill and its much more sinister sister, the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill, were put to secret ballot by referendum, they would be soundly defeated.

As were moves to legalise gay marriage in all 11 of the United States which held referendums on the question at the time of the presidential election.

But make no mistake. With years of preparation and experience behind them the homosexual lobby here is determined to storm the last - and most important - bastion of them all. That is the one that will give them the same legal rights as heterosexuals to enter into that most sacred of institutions, marriage, upon which the very foundations of human civilisation are and always have been built.

Which makes today's second reading debate on the Civil Union Bill one of the most crucial ever to take place in our Parliament, no matter how much homosexuals and their sympathisers would like to downplay it.

For if the Civil Union Bill is passed, you can be sure that this Government will pluck up the courage to bring the politically delayed Relationships Bill back to the House - even, perhaps, before next year's election.

And that's the one they really want, the one that will finally give homosexuals the one thing they have so far not been able to achieve and which they desire above all - equality with everybody else in a relationship which since time immemorial has been the exclusive preserve of heterosexual men and women.

Today's debate will be fascinating. It appears that some who were known to favour the legislation are now wavering and, by unnecessarily taking urgency (after all, it doesn't matter whether the bill gets its second reading today or in 2010) the Government has given them good reason to change their minds.

And isn't it exciting that our Muslim MP, Ashraf Choudhary, has finally discovered he has a conscience after all and will cast a vote, albeit along party lines.

I predict that if this seminal bill passes, it will do so on the slimmest of majorities - just like all the other social engineering and constitutional legislation this Government has foisted upon an unwilling public.

So I will simply sit back and take comfort once again in those wonderful and eternal words uttered by our Lord Jesus Christ just minutes before he died hanging on the Cross: "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."