Dog tags available for Queensland gays

A young Queensland artist has found a unique way to draw attention to the repeal of civil unions in Queensland by selling dog tags for gays to make light of the watered down relationship scheme.

Queensland’s government last week rolled back the state’s Civil Partnerships Act to prohibit state-sanctioned ceremonies and change the name of civil unions to “registered relationships”.

Nathan Stoneham created the cheeky pieces of art activism to potentially replace rings and send a strong political message.

“This process of registering your relationship sounds like the same thing you’d do with your dog or your trailer. It’s not very romantic,” Stoneham told the Star Observer.

“This gives people a way to get the message out that things are going backwards in Queensland.”

Stoneham said he was getting plenty of orders from allies, not just gay people, who are also angry at the changes.

Dog Tags For Gays are made from brass and are 3.2cms in diameter. Four lines of text will be engraved on the tag, including “DOG TAGS FOR GAYS” and a unique, meaningless registration number. People who order the tags can choose to customise the second and third line.

“In a similar way to which you might register your dog, you can register your gay relationship,” Stoneham’s website, Offset Art, states.

“Use as a replacement for rings, or wear as a symbol of your sexuality, and/or your support for LGBTIQ rights, and/or Queensland’s homophobic government.”

The tags are $20 with $5 from each sale will be donated to Healthy Communities, the Queensland LGBT health service recently defunded by Queensland government.

To order tags, visit here.