On the wider ramifications of the marriage equality debate

Adrian Jackson writes: Re. “Ramifications of marriage survey campaigns will outlive this government” (Thursday)

The conservative authors of a rear guard parliamentary bill on SSM which they claimed will “protect” religion should remember that in the Army rear guards often get destroyed. Religion has nothing to do with SSM as marriage is simply a legal contract signed between the couple which increasingly do not occur in a church anyway.

A ceremony in a church with the priests hocus pocus is just that, but the marriage is not legal until the government contract is signed in the back room of the church. In my suburb all but one of once five churches have closed and 30%, and growing, of Australians have no religion. In a few decades Australia will be 50% or more religion free. Now we need to get religious books out of our courts for swearing in a witness, cease  prays in parliament and stop compulsory church parades in the ADF.

On Russian involvement in US politics

John Richardson writes: Re. “Razer: oh, those anti-Russians …” (Thursday) 

It seems Russia is not content to sit back and allow the sordid US political malaise to destroy its public reputation 

In a clever tongue-in-cheek parody, Kremlin-funded broadcaster RT has mounted a masterful advertising campaign in the London Metro suggesting that commuters should ‘blame’ Russia if they miss a train or experience a range of life’s many trivial mishaps served-up on a daily basis.