EDGE on the Net

In countries from Canada to South Africa, gay and lesbian families enjoy full family equality: they are allowed to marry.

Indeed, even a handful of states in the U.S. allow marriage equality, though the federal government refuses to extend any recognition to same-sex families.

Now, gay and lesbian Aussies want to make it legal for their own families.

Australian newspaper The Age reported in a July 19 article that a gay and lesbian family parity group, Equal Love, was preparing to launch a push for marriage equality down under.

The group is planning a "day of action" on August 1 for widespread outreach, including a mass (though not legally binding) wedding.

Martin Baldock, the group’s spokesperson, said that marriage for gay and lesbian families is not a trivial matter.

Said Baldock, "It’s important because we are being treated like second-class citizens."

Added the group’s spokesperson, "I think the politicians need to stop looking at themselves and looking at what people want," adding that, "a recent Galaxy poll found 60 per cent of Australians were for same-sex marriage."

Baldock outlined the group’s stance in terms of civil rights, saying, "We just want the same rights as everyone else, we fall in love for the same reasons, we just happen to sleep with the same sex."

Added Baldock, "It’s like rubbing it in [gay families’] faces to show them that they’re still not quite human and that marriage is still reserved as an exclusive institution for heterosexuals."

The article pointed out that in 2008, Australian law took a major step toward equalizing rights and protections for same-sex families.

But those changes didn’t do enough; the article cited Baldock as noting that without true family parity, a gay or lesbian couple caught up in a medical emergency could find themselves in a position where one is in the hospital with the other unable to make medical decisions on behalf of his or her life partner.

The article noted that a law passed in 2004 by the Australian Parliament forbade marriage equality.

However, new legislation is pending that would, if passed, extend full legal equality to Australia’s gay and lesbian families, the article reported.

In certain respects, Australia is far ahead of the U.S. on GLBT equality issues. While bi-national same-sex couples in the U.S. must live in fear that one member of the family might be deported because his or her life partner cannot act as a visa sponsor, Australia has had provisions in place for same-sex bi-national couples since 1985.

Moreover, Australia integrated its military so as to allow openly gay servicemembers in 1992--something that America’s armed forces have yet to allow, though gay and lesbian troops in America’s armed forces are theoretically allowed to serve as long as they keep quiet about their true sexual orientation.