Rally for gay and lesbian rights

By Tom Flanagan

SYDNEY -- Four thousand chanting, whistle-blowing lesbians and gay men attended an enthusiastic anti-discrimination rally at Sydney's Town Hall Square on November 28.

The “All I Want For Christmas” rally was sponsored by a broad range of lesbian and gay organisations and addressed by representatives from the state government, the ALP, and the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, as well as Aboriginal and HIV positive speakers.

The issue of discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS was a key theme. Don Grimes, chairperson of the Australian National Council on AIDS pointed out that such discrimination has often been the most significant barrier to HIV positive people leading productive lives in the first decade of the disease.

Speaking on behalf of the Little Brothers of Positive Joy, an organisation fighting discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, Glen Goldsmith explained “We can't change what happened to us, but we can fight for equality”. His call for “AIDS rights -- gay rights now” drew a strong response from the crowd.

Participants marched to Green Park in Darlinghurst. During the course of the march one of the marchers was hit by a car, an incident which appeared to onlookers to have been deliberate. Such an event underlines the seriousness of discrimination on the basis of sexual preference, and the fact that the struggle for gay and lesbian rights still has a long way to go.

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