Last year a GetUp nationwide poll made politicians and pundits sit up and take notice - over 70% of Australians want same sex couples to have the same legal rights as de facto couples. A GetUp petition launched to tell politicians the time had come to remove this unfairness.
Finally, after more than a year of intense lobbying, the Senate will debate laws today that remove this outdated discrimination.
The latest word from Canberra is that some politicians who want to keep this discrimination will stall the bill once again with amendments. That's why we'll be walking the halls of Parliament with this petition in hand to convince our pollies to get the job done.
Can you add your name to the petition we'll be carrying with us, to make it too large to ignore?
www.getup.org.au/campaign/EqualBeforeTheLaw
Those politicians who want to keep the discrimination, or water it down with amendments meaning same sex couples will not be entirely equal before the law, need to know the community demands an immediate end to this unfairness. This petition will send that message - that now is the time to write this discrimination out of our laws.
When the weight of public opinion is effectively expressed, politicians will follow. That's why we've been busy behind the scenes on this issue, liaising with key decision makers, writing letters to every MP and Senator and visiting politicians face-to-face to take your concerns directly to Canberra. Now it's time for our final push.
We need every last signature to convince the remaining doubters that no excuses remain for not wiping this discrimination off the books. Will you help add to the final figure we present to politicians before they vote? Your signature could be the difference:
www.getup.org.au/campaign/EqualBeforeTheLaw
We know there is majority support for equal rights extending across every demographic, across every region, across every political party in the nation. Tell the politicians it's time they caught up to the people that voted them in.
Today, with your help, we can travel further down the path to greater equality.
Thanks for being a part of this,
The GetUp team
PS - Join over 70% of Australians, and every State and Territory, in supporting an end to discrimination against same s-x couples. Click here to help ensure Australians aren't treated like second-class citizens purely on the basis of their sex ual orientation.
Tags:
equal rights,
gay marriage,
glbt,
politics
Comments
3 comment(s) on this page. Add your own comment below.
Let's just take Religion out of politics and pass laws as "All People Are EQUAL". Religion has had too much say in the politics of nations for far too long and it is about time we removed it to its only rightful place, which is the church.
Social justice is an important principle of all truly democratic societies. Adherance to this prinicple requires that no Australian citizen should be discriminated against because of their sexual preference.
I've currently been living in Norway for almost a year and a half now with my Norwegian wife trying to get a visa to be able to come back to Australia.
Norway have had gay partnerships since 1991 and as of 2009 have gay marriage. We had to wait a one year living condition to even be able to apply for this visa when straight couples whom are not married but intend to be have no waiting period and can return to Australia on a perspetive marriage visa.
Now we have applied we've been waiting months for our application to begin processing. It's currently being held up because the case worker doesn't think we have enough proof of our relationship, even though we have a Norwegian Partnership, joint bank accounts, joint rent agreement from mid 2007, joint travel, stat decs and much more.
Australians need to take a long hard look at themselves and what they stand for. Everyone is meant to be entittled to a 'fair go' but there is nothing fair about my current situation.
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