Same sex marriage goes before senate in Australia

An inquiry into the Marriage Amendment Bill 2009 is now before the Senate.

The inquiry will seek to remove all discrimination from the Marriage Act 1961 on the basis of sexuality and gender identity and to permit marriage regardless of sex, sexuality and gender identity.

The Bill, introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, would allow same-sex marriage. It is the second of its kind in five years.

Martin Baldock, spokesperson for Equal Love Victoria, said he wants to send a message to Canberra. “The launch of this inquiry sends a clear signal to the federal government that marriage equality is not an issue that they can sweep under the rug and ignore. “It’s an issue that is going to keep coming back again and again until they recognise the common humanity of all Australians and introduce equal rights for everyone.”

Australian Marriage Equality (AME) has called on supporters of marriage equality to send in submissions to the inquiry. A previous inquiry into same-sex marriage in 2004 garnered 16,000 submissions.

AME national convenor Peter Furness said the inquiry is an excellent opportunity for supporters of full equality for same-sex couples to push for change. "We know from a recent Galaxy poll that 60 per cent of Australians support same-sex marriage, and our hope is that this strong community support will be reflected in submissions to the inquiry," Furness said.

Furness said that “personal stories of exclusion and disadvantage experienced by same-sex partners denied the right to marry” will carry the most weight.

For more information, goto:
http://www.equallove.info/