Queer rights activists across Australia are gearing up for an important year of action on equal marriage rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
The movement has gained confidence from a rise in public support for same-sex marriage rights.
A Galaxy poll commissioned by Australian Marriage Equality in June 2009 found that 60% of Australians agree that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Among people aged 16-24, 74% agreed.
In July last year, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made clear at the ALP national conference that his government's policy would not reflect the majority view. LGBTI people would remain the only group in Australia without the right to marry.
Tasmanian queer rights activist Rodney Croome told Green Left Weekly: "It's more important than ever to send a message to the Rudd government that it is out of step with mainstream Australia. Whether it's … at the ballot box or on the street we have to show the government that marriage equality matters."
Resistance activist and queer rights campaigner Farida Iqbal told GLW that the marriage equality campaign is the key struggle for queer rights in Australia right now.
"It is the culmination of all our previous struggles", she said. "Australian governments have conceded things like the decriminalisation of sodomy and an equal age of consent. The current government has even conceded legal recognition to de-facto same sex relationships
"Yet they refuse to concede the right to marry because this is seen as the ultimate seal of legitimacy for a relationship. It is the ultimate thing that they do not want us to have."
Iqbal said the ALP's refusal to grant queers equal rights was appalling. "If we don't have equal marriage rights then we don't have equal rights. It's that simple."
Sydney-based Socialist Alliance activist and founding member of Community Action against Homophobia, Rachel Evans, said the government is feeling the pressure from the campaign.
"The ALP are aware of the growing active resistance to the marriage ban, introduced in August 2004", she told GLW. "Six years of a grassroots movement has turned around support for equal marriage rights from about 38% in 2004, to as high as 68% in 2009.
"On February 10, Kevin Rudd launched a 'Wear it With Pride' campaign to pink-wash his same-sex marriage ban. The government campaign shows all the hallmarks of a government under fire."
She said the campaign is winning new supporters.
"Last year, the movement organised the largest Australian rallies in LGBTI political history. The among many others.
"Campaign groups across Australia have embarked on a 'National Year of Action' for equal marriage rights. Protests for equal marriage rights on Valentine's Day [February 14] resulted in 200 rallying in Ballarat, 50 in Sydney, and 500 in Perth.
"More rallies are scheduled for March 20, the government can say what it likes, but equal love rights means full marriage equality."
Iqbal said Australian activists are confident about the campaign's outcomes for 2010 given the new momentum in Australia and internationally.
"Last August, we had the biggest protests in the history of the Australian queer struggle. A national convergence happened in America that drew more than 200,000 people. That's twice the size of the Copenhagen global warming demo — enormous.
"Activists are also making huge gains in the Third World. Gay sex was decriminalised in India, and there will be same-sex marriage soon in Nepal."
Iqbal said she could see that the movement was attracting more young people from different backgrounds.
"I get the sense that a lot of young people aren't getting active purely out of desperation. They are also motivated by a profound sense of hope for the future.
"A lot of straight young people are coming to the rallies. This is great. I think this generation is capable of amazing things. I hope these new young activists are welcomed into the movement with wide open arms. I hope they are given the maximum opportunity to develop themselves politically."
The campaign aims to bring same-sex marriage rights to the forefront of this year's federal election.
A nationwide protest has been called for March 20, with other actions planned in the lead up to the election.
Iqbal said: "Now people are more mobilised around queer rights than ever before. Now is our chance to change this appalling situation. We can't let it go. There is too much at stake. This is our year of action."