At last month’s Equal Love rally in Perth there was a notable growing feeling of frustration and anger amongst the crowd. While the protest march drew a smaller crowd than previous outings, the vibe was distinctly different.
During the March the protestors stopped on William Street and sat down, bringing the city’s traffic to a grinding halt, showing that it only takes a few minutes to create chaos. Some of the protestors placed stickers on shop fronts and statues and stickered the cars unexpectedly captured in the rally.
The mood was different. People were angrier, more upset and looking for a way to release their frustration. It’s not surprising, when increasingly polls show that the majority of Australians support change. The latest poll from Roy Morgan released in late May measured support of 65%, and also noted that 79% of people surveyed thought that politicians should be given a conscience vote on the issue.
The most recent country to sign up to marriage equality is France, where Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau became the first same sex couple to walk down the aisle. In France, the polls indicate fewer people are in support of change and there has been fierce opposition. There have been riots, violent protests and most alarmingly the suicide of activist Dominique Venner.
As we head towards the federal election equal marriage advocates have a responsibility to ensure that peaceful protests prevail. Everyone fighting for this cause should think of creative ways to get the message across. Write letters, create art works, use photography, stage creative events or make a t-shirt, say it with puppets – keep changing it up to keep getting people’s attention.
More important though is the actions of our politicians, for representatives of the people, they seem to be disagreeing with what the people want on this issue. How much longer can the major party’s leaders ignore this issue? How high must those polls rise for change to happen?
Graeme Watson
editor@outinperth.com
