Rachel Evans
August 13 marks one year since the Coalition and ALP decided against allowing same-sex couples the same marriage rights as heterosexuals. Activists are marking this anniversary with protests in four cities.
The Australian Marriage Equality (AME), a national gay and lesbian rights advocacy group, initiated the protest and it's being supported by 57 other organisations including Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH), the NSW-based group that led three anti-homophobia rallies in 2004, the United Ecumenical Catholic Church, Australian Sailing and Cruising Club, Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, the Greens and the Socialist Alliance.
A study by the Australia Institute released in July shows that more than one third of Australians are homophobic: 43% of men and 27% of women view homosexuality as immoral. The study of almost 25,000 people was conducted from October 2003 to September 2004.
It quotes a report from the NSW Attorney General's Department which showed that 85% of gay men and lesbians experienced harassment or violence during their lifetime, with one in four gay men and lesbians being physically attacked.
Same-sex attracted youth, the study notes, account for between 5-11% of the general population, but they are estimated to be six times more likely to attempt suicide.
Given this, activists are determined to wage a public awareness campaign. The August 13 protests marks a milestone in (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender intersex) LGBTI rights organising. According to Pride History, the last national anti-homophobia day of action was in January 1981, with five states participating.
The Perth protest will include a couple renewing their wedding vows, and in Melbourne, participants at the march and rally will also have a chance to view Just Married. In Hobart, the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group will hold a mock same-sex wedding on the Parliament House lawns.
Melbourne's protest coalition includes all the gay peak bodies and activist groups including the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby whose convenor, Pete Dillon, believes the federal government "has bowed to the fundamentalist religious right".
Sydney had a united coalition of the Aids Council of New South Wales (ACON), Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (GLRL), New Mardi Gras (NMG) and CAAH. On July 6, after much discussion, the coalition adopted "Relationship equality: for equal marriage, civil union and defacto rights for all" as the theme for August 13 and decided to be a part of the AME Marriage Equality National Day of Action.
But by July 27, ACON, GLRL and NMG had all pulled out citing a range of political and logistical problems. David Scamell from the GLRL told the July 28 Sydney Star Observer that his organisation could not be involved in something which "misrepresents what our position is and undermines what the Lobby stands for". GLRL and ACON had apparently wanted to invite ALP leader Kim Beazley and PM John Howard to address the rally.
Luke Gahan from Australian Marriage Equality said the lobby's decision to withdraw was disappointing, but that the protest would go ahead because "we have to raise awareness of these issues".
From Green Left Weekly, August 10, 2005.
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