please let us marry

Australia’s National Day of Action for Same-Sex Marriage is 1 August 2009, which is tomorrow! Read more about the issue of Same-Sex Marriage in Australia here and here.

Per the Equal Love website: “the National Day of Action has traditionally been the anniversary of the federal government’s same-sex marriage ban. But this year it will be two weeks earlier – to coincide with the Australian Labor Party’s triennial national conference.

Party heavyweights will gather from July 30th to August 1st in Sydney at the Convention and Exhibition Centre to revise the party’s national platform so that it is “a modern, up-to-date document”.

This is an ideal opportunity for the Equal Love Campaign to pressure the governing party to change its outdated and discriminatory policy on same-sex marriage.

It is unlikely that the federal government will support marriage equality so long as the Labor Party platform clearly rejects it. This is why the national conference is so important.

By focusing attention on this triennial event, Equal Love demonstrators will see how their voices can directly make a difference. Our protests will have a more visible and immediate purpose. In addition, there will be plenty of opportunities for media coverage.”

However, as the ABC reports, “the move to push the issue at the party's national conference has hit a major stumbling block: the Prime Minister.

"We went to the last election being very clear-cut about our position on marriage, under the Marriage Act, being between a man and a woman," Mr Rudd said.”

I agree with Equal Love’s statement that: "the federal government, by opposing same-sex marriage, is effectively sanctioning homophobia".

There are protests happening in all Australia's capital cities, read the list here. Please join in the demonstrations! Help to gain marriage equality!

The info for Brisbane is as follows:

DATE: Saturday 1 August, 2009, 1.00pm

VENUE: Queens Park

CONTACT: Jessica Payne, jessicapayne86@hotmail.com

You will see us there for sure :-)

If you're unable to attend a demonstration, why not write to the government?

Australian Marriage Equality has some general ideas for topics to include in an email or letter. The statement that seems to resonate with me the most is:

The right to marry gives greater social and legal security to your family. Denying this to some families while giving it to others creates insecurity within society and weakens the fundamental Australian values of equality and belonging.

Kelly and Sam on their blog, The Muriels, have written a similar call to arms. However, they also include a list of the email addresses of all Australian Labor Party Conference Delegates for your easy reference.

Take action peeps!

An interesting point before I finish…

Equal Love notes: “Some people believe same-sex couples should ask for civil unions instead of same-sex marriage. But the Equal Love campaign firmly believes that there is no substitute for equality in marriage...

If Australia establishes a national civil union scheme instead of removing marriage discrimination, we will be entrenching the second-class status of same-sex couples, opening them up to greater discrimination, and defying a global trend towards full legal and social equality.”

We are entitled to full citizenship, to equality, to respect. We are entitled to celebrate our love for our partner, just as our straight counterparts are. Marriage is a basic human right.

I wonder how Mr Rudd would feel if he couldn’t be married?

Shan

PS. Remember that marriage in Australia is a civil institution, not a religious one.