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Thousands protest for same-sex marriage rights PDF Print
15 May 2010

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May 15 saw thousands take to the streets to demand civil rights for gay and lesbian couples. 5,000 marched in Melbourne; over 1,000 in Sydney; and several hundred in Brisbane, Perth and Canberra.
The homophobic ban on same-sex marriage has been in force for 6 years now. Labor and the Liberals have joined forces to stifle debate, and ensure that this state-sanctioned discrimination continues.
But all over the country, activists made it clear that the law will continue to be received with noise and protest, rather than the silence that the government is hoping for.
In Melbourne, one of the largest petition drives in Australia culminated in 100,000 signatures being handed to Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. In one of the most successful rallies of the long running campaign thousands squeezed onto the lawns of the State Library to listen to speeches before marching around the city.
Ian McKellen, Roger Rees, Matthew Kelly and Brendan O'Hea – all performing in the play Waiting for Godot – spoke of their personal experiences in coming out and dealing with homophobia. McKellen, famous for roles in such films as Lord of the Rings, and a prominent gay rights activist, noted that homophobia is a global issue and that laws can be changed when people get active.
In Sydney over 1000 marched from the Town Hall to Hyde Park. Speakers were defiant that the campaign would continue until the ban is repealed. The Perth march was lively with the overwhelmingly young crowd marching through the Hay Street Mall.
In Brisbane Reverend Leigh from the Metropolitan Community Church addressed an energetic crowd. Notable around the country was the presence of union leaders giving support for equal rights. Andrew Ferguson from the construction union spoke in Sydney, Peter Marshall from the firefighters union in Melbourne, and Greg Miller from the public sector union in Canberra.
At every demonstration the message was the same – no going back to the 1950s. Out, loud, proud!
Another national day of protest has been called by the Equal Love campaign for August 14.

 

 

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