Oz activists look overseas

Oz activists look overseas

The US Democrats have praised the campaign efforts of US activist group the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for its help in getting candidates sympathetic to gay issues elected in November’s ballot.

The HRC deliberately played down the divisive same-sex marriage issue to focus on assisting 225 candidates across both major parties.

Of those endorsed candidates, more than 90 percent went on to win.

The HRC’s decision not to direct resources against state-based same-sex marriage bans was a pragmatic one to arrest the losses of 2004, according to HRC president Joe Solmonese.

While the commitment of the newly elected legislators remains to be seen, Australian activists are considering whether a similar strategy would be effective in the next federal election.

Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson Rodney Croome said US activists had taken local initiatives and united them in an effective national campaign.

The most important lesson the United States can teach us now is how to encourage grassroots activism and channel that into a national effort, he said.

They’re very effective in encouraging people into action from wherever they might be, whether they want to become fully fledged activists or whether they just want to write a letter to their local congressmen.

The HRC was also able to draw on a veritable army of 650,000 members, Croome added.

After the 2004 US and Australian elections, in which same-sex marriage was used to mobilise so-called value voters towards conservative parties, few activists saw much hope for gay and lesbian causes on either side of the Pacific.

However, Croome said he still believed in a strong long-term campaign for marriage equality in Australia.

The issue of equal marriage in the US has taught, by necessity, local and national organisations to work together. When I as an individual activist look to the US for leadership, that’s what I see, I see how the local and the national can work together.

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