I take issue with Archdeacon Peter McLeod Miller’s  jumbled ramblings (‘Show some compassion’, The Border Mail, August 15) about compassion, politics, law, ethics, religion, spirituality and so on.

He’s happy to quote from a notable, retired gay judge, Michael Kirby, who himself has done a backflip from boycotting a postal plebiscite to now supporting it and voting yes.  

He attacks Malcolm Turnbull for honouring an election commitment to a democratic vote on same-sex marriage and wants him to renege based on the Archdeacon’s “best evidence “ without stating what that evidence is. 

He shows no proof of the proposed plebiscite “unleashing its volatile contents across the nation” and is just scaremongering and deliberately misleading and demonising people who don’t happen to share his view.

The demonising I continue to see and experience comes from the aggressive gay rights followers who demand, with vile expletives, we must vote “yes”, or else, and any evidence and data from other countries where same-sex marriage was legalised is conveniently dismissed as propaganda, such is the narrow mindset of the gay lobby. 

I remind the Archdeacon that the postal plebiscite is a direct result of the Labor party, Greens and Independents preventing the full, original plebiscite for the Australian people having a democratic vote in an election booth, removed from the incessant lobbying, threats and abuse by the gay lobby groups who know it’s much easier to target and mob politicians than persuade the general Australian public. That’s why polling booths exist but not for the Archdeacon it seems.

Dual citizenship is a complex issue especially as so many Australian citizens and/or their parents were born overseas.

I vaguely remember, decades ago, when Russia announced that anyone born in any of the USSR countries would be considered as Russian citizens, no matter where in the world they happen to be living at the time.

I read reports some years ago that many Greek new Australians made every effort to organise dual citizenship for their Australian-born children so as to keep links with the old country and to make it easier for the children to visit Greece to meet their extended families.

There was the occasional report of a young man visiting the relatives and being nabbed for two years in the Greek National Service. It is all very well to say that it is in black and white in our constitution, (written more than 100 years ago), or the holder of public office should have known in which countries he/she held citizenship, but we should not be so quick to judge.

Our politicians are not lacking in courage as has been suggested by their failure to just approve same-sex marriage. It was only last week that Malcolm Turnbull showed plenty of bravado in being quick to suggest he would involve Australia in a conflict with North Korea. Mr Turnbull said if North Korea were to attack the US, Australia would joint the conflict. Is it not a strange world in which we live when our leaders can so matter of factly commit their citizens to kill and be killed – without those citizens having any say – but when it comes to love, the question is so difficult, politicians can’t decide. War? Easy. Love? Too hard. 

It’s like something out of a Seinfeld episode (“Bizarro world”).