All Love is Equal

I have to say upfront that I’m not much of a protester. I traditionally don’t march, don’t sign petitions and most certainly don’t shout pithy slogans into a megaphone. This stems mostly from the feeling that no one in power is listening – if you get less than a million strong, it barely makes a ripple and you were better off staying home. Think work choices, voluntary student unionism and the war in Iraq. Come APEC time, the water cannons and marbles (to roll under the mounted police) will be out, but again it won’t change a damn thing. Bush will continue to do as Bush wants. My attitude, as you would all be well aware is to sweep to power, and make the changes myself.

This weekend though, I made an exception. I marched and chanted my way down Oxford Street, in support of same-sex couples searching for equality. While I maintain that Howard and Rudd were no doubt oblivious to this occasion (no doubt at the city to surf), it’s a cause I’ve long embraced. A June report by The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission only increased the urgency of this issue in my mind, finding that same-sex couples were discriminated against in 58 areas of legislation. In the workplace, in relation to superannuation and in generally being recognised on all those occasions that only ‘partners’ are admitted (hospital visits, access to shared children etc). As was often said on the day, same-sex couple are segregated into a third tier (below married and de facto heterosexuals), often finding themselves in legal limbo.

It was a great day out. Various speakers highlighted the difficulties society has placed in the way of same-sex couples. I found none more compelling than the representative from Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), who simply wondered why her 3 children (1 straight, 1 gay, 1 lesbian) were treated so dramatically different? Two are discriminated against and marginalised, while the other is free to love and be loved. Her sentiments reflected the slogan of the day: All Love is Equal.

In the end, I was pleased to hear that Malcolm Turnbull has decided to take up this fight (making him one of only a handful of high-profile politicians to be interested), but fear that full rights to marriage and children for same-sex couples remain unacceptably distant. The protests will continue as public support increases and if we have to wait until I’m President, equality for same-sex couples will be signed into law on Day 1.