A national day of action has been organized for 23 November to defend the newly passed same-sex marriage law in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from the Australian Government
A national day of protest has been called by LGBT rights group Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) for 23 November to defend the ACT Government’s passing of same-sex marriage from a court challenge by the Australian Government.
The ACT Government’s law allows any couple who are not allowed to marry under the federal Marriage Act to marry in the ACT.
CAAH will use the day of protest to demand that the ACT law be upheld and that full marriage equality be recognized federally by the Australian Parliament.
CAAH co-convener Cat Rose said the passing of the bill, the first of its kind in Australia, was ‘hugely significant.’
‘Grassroots activism that was not afraid to challenge the status quo bought us from the homophobic Howard days to here,’ Rose said.
‘This is not the end of the road yet though – we need popular protest to continue and rejuvenate if we want to see the High Court uphold these laws from the Abbott government’s attacks, and for this to be turned into a step on the road to achieving full marriage equality nationally.’
However Rose said she was concerned about how the inconsistency in recognizing different kinds of marriage at a territory and national level would affect some transgender and intersex people who were not yet legally recognized as their preferred gender.
‘There are going to be big problems with two tiers of governmental recognition of marriage … We need marriage laws that don’t force people into rigid expectations of bodily sex.
‘The huge inadequacy of “same-sex” marriage laws for them highlight why even people in the ACT can’t call it quits from here. Leaving trans and intersex people behind is not part of our marriage equality vision. We don’t leave anyone behind.’
The protests will be held in Sydney at the Sydney Town Hall, in Melbourne at the Victorian State Library, in Brisbane in Queens Park and in Perth’s Stirling Gardens. All events will begin 1pm local time.
Photo: Bidgee
Author: Andrew Potts
Publication: GayStarNews
Date: 22 October 2013