Twin brothers will become the new faces to the same-sex marriage debate after a new national advertising campaign was launched today, portraying how marriage equality is affecting Australian families.
GetUp! and Australian Marriage Equality collaborated on the advertisement that features twin brothers David, who is heterosexual and Paul, who is homosexual.
The 50-second advertisement focuses on the similarities between the two brothers until they talk about their relationships and why one brother can get married while the other can not.
‘Growing up we shared the same things, same birthdays, toys, clothes, even the same bad clothes,’ David says on the advertisement.
‘So why are we different now? I can get married and Paul can’t… It shouldn’t matter.’
Australian Marriage Equality convenor Alex Greenwich told OUTinPerth the timing of advertisement’s release, coinciding with Valentine’s Day, was intentional.
‘Valentine’s Day is a day when we think about love and think about relationships and it’s a day when a lot of gay and lesbian couples realise that, unfortunately the law doesn’t recognise their relationship equally,’ Greenwich said.
‘Just as a husband will give his wife roses, I’m also going to give my partner roses.
‘So it’s a day that points out the importance of relationships but at the same time, unfortunately, reminds us that the law doesn’t treat us equally.’
Greenwich hoped the real-life example presented in the advertisement would motivate people to get more involved in the same-sex marriage debate.
‘It’s important to realise this is a real issue that affects real people and real families and by putting a face to it,’ Greenwich said.
‘It’s the same (love) that a gay person has for their partner that a straight person has. The love is the same and that’s what we hope to point out and show in a real life example.’
‘We know it is an effective medium to get the message across and we are ramping it up with GetUp! because this year is such a crucial year.’
Later this year, the Labor National Conference will address their current platform for same-sex marriage with Labor MPs, including Minister for Social Inclusion Tanya Plibersek, lobbying to amend the current Marriage Act.
‘We’re hoping this will further engage the community to take action and fight for marriage equality; to contact their local MP; to have a discussion at the dinner table and get the general community, not just the gay and lesbian community, backing it and engage with the issue,’ Greenwich said.
Check out the advertisement here.
Benn Dorrington
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