'United action needed to repeal same-sex marriage ban'

Bernard Ryan's article in the August 12 Sydney Star Observer criticised the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby's lack of action on same-sex marriage. In response, letters in the SSO defended the lobby for "not prioritising marriage as the major election issue".

We didn't get to choose [the timing for such a campaign] because the federal government introduced legislation in June to outlaw same-sex marriage. Given that this would remove the choice of marriage from us forever, it was imperative to strongly defend this right and prioritise a campaign for the right to marry.

Arguing that, if we'd kept our heads down, the bill would not have been passed is to ignore classic Howard "wedge politics" electioneering. In the 1996 election it was Aboriginal people, in 2001 it was refugees and in 2004 it's queers. It wasn't up to us to hide and hope we were ignored; it was up to us to fight hard when under attack.

Stronger voices for equal marriage rights, expressed earlier, might have convinced the Labor Party to oppose the bill outright, or at least stick firmly with the Senate inquiry. We need further discussion on where to now.

The demands for "Equal marriage rights for all! Repeal the same-sex marriage ban" needs popularising. Labor's promised de facto and anti-discrimination legislation (minus marriage rights) is not full equality. Promises from Labor can only be small comforts, given Labor's broken promises over the Senate inquiry. The strength of our marriage campaign will determine whether Labor feels under enough pressure to deliver.

Pursuing only de facto couples' rights would be a mistake because this means leaving the marriage ban unchallenged. The Marriage Amendment Bill wound back the our rights by deliberately excluding us from the legal and social rights enjoyed by heterosexuals. Ignoring a repeal campaign on the marriage ban would be a travesty.

We needed a united campaign to oppose the bill. And now we need a united community response that calls for the repeal of this act. United national action, rallies and forums is what we need to get this bill off the books and win full equality for [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex] people.

Signed by: Bernard Ryan, Rachel Evans, Kylie Moon (Socialist Alliance Senate NSW candidate), Jenny Leong (Greens candidate for Sydney), Dale Mills, Philip Myers (Greens candidate for Grayndler), Susan Price (Socialist Alliance candidate for Sydney), Glen Primmer, Philip Ritchie, Sarah Fuller, Tony Hickey, Maurice Farrell, Nicole Chanell-Brett, Bruce Knobloch, Emelia Holdaway, Paul Simpson, James Wilson, Harley Dennett, Nicholas Maconichie, Charles Gregory, Grace Abraham and Luke Gahan.

From Green Left Weekly, September 1, 2004.

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From GLW issue 596