Equal Love and Australian Marriage Equality to lead Melbourne’s Pride March
Image: Pride March Victoria 2015 participants (PHOTO: Alexander Legaree; Star Observer)
LGBTI rights groups Equal Love and Australian Marriage Equality will jointly lead Melbourne’s upcoming Pride March under a united theme of marriage equality.
The announcement was made by Midsumma Festival this morning at St Kilda Town Hall where rainbow flags were raised to launch Pride March celebrations.
This year is the first time in the city’s annual Pride March history that it will focus on a particular issue of inequality for the LGBTI community.
Equal Love spokesperson Anthony Wallace said that by leading the march it will send an important message to the Federal Government.
“We’re very upset that Malcolm Turnbull has taken up Tony Abbott’s suggestion of a plebiscite,” he told the Star Observer.
“Marriage equality advocates were initially very happy to think that in the next parliament the first bill presented would be voted on, as it was the formal position.
“So we’re very disappointed that the Liberal party haven’t held their word in holding a free vote in the next parliament.”
In leading the march, Wallace said he had a simple message for Turnbull.
“Do what’s right, and do what you’ve been saying long before you got the top job,” he said.
“That’s to enshrine equality in law for the LGBTI community.
“A lot of people are thinking he’s our greatest ally when it fact he’s done us a lot of damage because he’s taken a vote off the table and said the way forward is a plebiscite.”
Over 130 organisations have already registered to take part in Pride March Victoria, which will run along Fitzroy St, St Kilda.
Australian Marriage Equality Victorian director Tim Peppard also had a simple message for the Federal Government.
“The key message from us leading the Pride March is that the community supports marriage equality, and this year we will only vote for individual members of parliament who support marriage equality,” he told the Star Observer.
“It’s very symbolic that Equal Love and Australian Marriage Equality are marching together… we have a joint aim of achieving marriage equality in this country.
“I personally think we will have it within six months of the next federal election.”
Pride March will take place on Sunday, January 31 along St Kilda’s Fitzroy Street.
The Star Observer is a proud media partner of Midsumma.
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Just 5 politicians away from marriage equality in Australia, we are close – but not close enough. We need action in 2016!
We have a majority of Senators and MPs in support of SSM now, according to the SMH and the Australian version of the Guardian! Tony Abbott will support SSM, on one condition – that the Australian people approve SSM at a soon to be referendum!
I have found this, because this theoretically allows same-sex marriage!
ACTS INTERPRETATION ACT 1901 – SECT 23
Rules as to gender and number
In any Act:
(a) words importing a gender include every other gender; and
(b) words in the singular number include the plural and words in the plural number include the singular.
My online search of the 1901 Act shows: “…unless the contrary intention appears – Words importing the masculine gender shall include females…”
And back then gender was essentially a grammatical term so the Act is saying everywhere it says ‘he’ or ‘him’ etc. it also includes ‘she’ and ‘her’ etc.
It’s about pronouns, not sex.