Not overly encouraging news from Parliament last month. MP’s were reporting back to Parliament following Adam Bandt’s motion last year for MP’s to consult their electorates to ascertain their views on same-sex marriage. A cursory glance seems to indicate dark thunderclouds on the horizon – with a seemingly very small proportion of the MPs electorates offering their support for Marriage Equality, and the prospect of a ‘compromise’ of civil unions was mentioned more than once.
But before you reach for the vodka and handkerchiefs (good for drunken self-pity AND molotovs!) worry not. These figures represent only a fifth of all the members of Parliament, and the polls still indicate that support for Marriage Equality is as high as 68 per cent. We can still win this – but the hard part is far from over.
Some of you may recall the Marriage Equality Matters campaign (mymarriagestory.com.au), which is being run across the entire country – collecting stories from an enormous variety of individuals that believe that marriage should be accessible for all.
Of the thousands of stories that have been received across the country, an enormous number have come from WA – powerful stories of support for family members, friends and colleagues. Now we need to take things a little further.
We are looking for four or five extraordinary Western Australians to travel with us to Canberra in October to talk to their Federal members about the importance of Marriage Equality. In particular, we are looking for individuals residing in the electorates of Moore, Pearce, Curtin, Hasluck, Brand and Perth.
GALE and our allies will be helping to fund travel to and from the capital, as well as accommodation. You will also be accompanied by dedicated and experienced advocates and lobbyists who will provide support and advice for meeting with MPs.
Over the next few weeks we will be meeting with community members that are interested in supporting Marriage Equality in Canberra. If you are interested, we will be more than happy to arrange a time to chat with you. Contact GALE on info@galewa.asn.au – or phone 0414 846 153 for more information.
See you in Canberra!
Kitty Hawkins
Gay and Lesbian Equality WA
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