Tuesday 4 August 2009

Do you James take Adam to be your lawfully wedded Husband?

Are you still with [boyfriend X] ?

We've all been asked it, but I rarely hear it being asked of straight couples.
There is often an expectation of relationship splits in same sex couples. The fact that we have no formal means of being recognised doesn't encourage a sense of commitment, and I expect makes our relationships less valued. I certainly have been pissed off at weddings where my relationship has been considered inferior, even though it has outlasted many of those marriages.

And while I'm not sure about getting married personally, I'd like to be able to make that decision for myself and not have it made for me by a government or religious institution.

The Australian Greens have introduced the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009 into the Australian Senate. The Bill aims to amend the definition of marriage from a “union between a man and a woman” to “a union between two persons”. This will allow all couples, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, the right to marry in Australia.

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee has set August 28th as the deadline for submissions for the Inquiry into the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009. You can make a submission to the enquiry easily following via the Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby webpage which goes into more detail about this here, and has an easy to fill out form here which you can link to and fill out online. Even if you don't personally have a desire for marriage, I think it is important that we have the possibility of choosing it and the recognition that our relationships are just as valid and valued as anyone else's.

The majority of the population is now in support of marriage equality, but I know there are going to be loads of religious groups making submissions opposing it. Don't let them win.
Have your say now.

You can also vote in the superchilled marriage poll top right.

1 comment:

Crazy Sam said...

The world definitely should hear about one more country legalizing same-sex marriages. I hope that Australia won't be disappointing us. :-)