Kate Burton

In the last week the letters page of Hobart's Mercury newspaper has been filled with the issue of same-sex marriage. Predictably, hysteria and fear reigned. In response I wrote my own letter, which was published today.

"The hysteria over allowing same-sex marriage is fuelled by fear - fears that are often left unsaid except the overwhelming fear that 'traditional marriage' will somehow come under threat. It is a fragile institution that is threatened by expanding its members.

The divorce rate began climbing long before any country legalised same-sex unions. The self-appointed defenders of traditional marriage should be looking elsewhere for the source of their fear for their beloved institution. Workplaces and a society more interested in making money than encouraging and protecting care and love within families and communities, for instance. Perhaps legitimising, through law, love between two men or two women is precisely the encouragement heterosexual couples need to make and keep their own vows."