Media coverage of the event has been overwhelmingly positive. Of course
it has! Anyone who dares to criticize the event is liable to be publicly
slandered, pilloried and persecuted. Any public figure who dares speak anything
other than celebratory praise for the gay lifestyle will be in danger of losing
their job.
I decided to do some research on public decency laws because, despite
the fact that I know the NSW Police appoint an officer each year to check on such
matters, I wondered how some of the costumes (or lack thereof) can be deemed
acceptable.
According to justanswer.com, Section 393 of the Crimes Act 1900, “A
person who offends against decency by the exposure of his or her person in a
public place, or in any place within the view of a person who is in a public
place, commits an offence.”
What would happen if a man appeared outside a school wearing nothing but
a small cloth covering his private parts? What would security personnel in
shopping centres or sports venues do with someone cavorting around in such a
state of undress? In more personal situations, proponents of such behaviour
could even (quite legitimately) be charged with sexual abuse.
I realize, of course, that people who deliberately choose to watch the
parade cannot then complain about what they, or their children, might happen to
see. My point is that the Mardi Gras actually celebrates and promotes things
that would be illegal almost anywhere else.
Public decency laws often include exemptions for things done in the name
of entertainment, and perhaps this excuse might be used to support the legality
of the Mardi Gras parade. But who could deny that this event deliberately
pushes the limits of public decency? Who determines what is acceptable and what
is not?
It is not a celebration of diversity but a celebration of perversity.
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