Researching Reform thinks this is a very good petition, so we’re sharing it. But it’s a petition with a twist – a very, very interesting one.

As it suggests, the Coalition for Equal Marriage petition is calling for all types of marriage (amongst two consenting adults) to be given the same status across the board and is of course focused on removing the current stigma in politics associated with same-sex marriage.

But it doesn’t end there. There is a second petition, which is mentioned in the first, it’s Devil’s Advocate Doppelganger if you will, which is called The Coalition for Marriage. In this second petition, the title of which is “Don’t play politics – One Man plus One Woman with Marriage” you are asked to sign if you feel marriage should be restricted to heterosexual couples. Like the first petition, there is a section on the page which puts arguments forward for its position. Both petitions have compelling arguments, but we’ll leave you to guess which one we signed (no peaking at the signature list)!

As they stand, the petition for the Coalition for Equal Marriage has 1,391 signatures, 432 tweets and 622 ‘Likes’ on Facebook. In contrast, the Coalition for Marriage’s petition has 27,190 signatures, 787 tweets and 960 ‘Likes’ on Facebook.

Perhaps just as fascinating is the list of political and high-profile signatories for the second petition campaigning for marriage to remain a heterosexual affair. Unsurprisingly perhaps, most of the signatories hail from the religious sector and appear to be backed by government. Another odd aspect of this petition is the assertion in the About Section that, “The Coalition is committed to a reasoned and courteous debate on this issue, and will highlight any intimidation or intolerance shown to supporters of traditional marriage“. No mention though, of highlighting any intimidation or intolerance of those who oppose it. In any event, given that this coalition wish to attack the concept of same-sex marriage, we can’t help but feel icky about their spiel.

But the really big twist? The first petition, created by two men who want nothing more than to get married was created in response to the second petition (have we confused you yet… we’re going to trip over ourselves in a minute but we’ll keep going until we do).

It takes less than twenty seconds to sign a petition… which one will you sign? 🙂