WITH a cross party bill set to be introduced to parliament in less than a fortnight, Young people who support equal marriage rights for same sex couples yesterday had the opportunity to speak up.
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The message was being promoted in town by Hume Supports Marriage Equality, a non-partisan grass roots movement, lobbying for law reform.
The group formed in Goulburn a little over a month ago and has quickly gained support across the electorate.
Yesterday, they were in Young with their petition asking federal member, Angus Taylor, to both seek a conscience vote on the issue in the party room and vote yes when the bill comes before the house.
“The numbers are very close at the moment but if this reform is going to become a reality we need MPs like ours to vote in favour,” spokesperson Tom Sebo said.
“Mr Taylor has committed to represent the views of his constituency on this issue. So, if you fundamentally believe in equality and the rights of all people to pursue happiness in their own lives, you have to speak up.”
The campaign has gained a lot of traction across the electorate. In Goulburn, 30 businesses pledged their support for the reform and hundreds of locals have signed the petition.
There have also been strong responses in Yass, Crookwell and Taralga.
Mr Sebo said they had received a great response from people of all ages in Young, collecting more than 100 signitures by lunchtime.
“And we’re no where near finished, we might need to come back a second day,” he said.
“Some people have been telling us ‘it’s about time’, ‘this should have been done years ago’, ‘I’ll sign it - my son or grandson is gay’.
“I would say the success rate has been 80 per cent.
“The support we’ve received has been overwhelming,” Mr Sebo said.
“It just reinforces that you don’t have to be gay to care about this issue. There is nothing controversial about what we’re proposing. Some argue that marriage has had one set definition since the dawn of time but that simply isn’t true. As a social institution it has evolved with each culture and generation that have embraced it.
“There was a time in Australia’s history when convicts weren’t allowed to marry. Fifty years ago interfaith and interracial marriages were a challenging notion. Today, they’re common place and nobody batts an eyelid.
“The only reason same-sex marriage is attracting so much attention is because the federal act doesn’t allow for it, despite the fact the constitution clearly does.
“I thought Alan Jones nailed it recently when he said: ‘In a very difficult world, which is often impersonal, uncaring, ruthless and sometimes brutal in personal relationships, love can prove elusive. And my view is that when people find love they should be able to celebrate it. And they shouldn’t be discriminated against according to the nature of that love.’
“At the end of the day that’s what it is really about, legal equality and the celebration of love.”
Copies of the petition have been left at Neon Multimedia and Rhubarb Emporium for anyone still wanting to sign.
For more information visit their Facebook page or email: marriageequalityforhume@gmail.com
