Australian Same-Sex Marriage Equality

Hi to any Aussies here - I just pulled this from an email, trying to spread the word wherever possible!

As you may or may not be aware, in the last couple of weeks the federal senate voted to send the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009 (lodged by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young) to an inquiry. This Bill seeks to amend the Marriage Act to allow Australian same-sex marriages and recognise same-sex marriages performed overseas.

Please take a look at this link http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/senatesubmission.htm and take the time to make a submission as soon as possible. When a similar enquiry was held in 2004, conservative groups organised themselves a lot better than pro-gay groups did, resulting in a more than 4:1 ratio in favour of negative submissions. With recent poll results showing a majority of Australians now favour same-sex marriage, it's time for things to change. It's really important that the inquiry hears about the personal impact of the continuing ban on same-sex marriage on all of us; get your voice heard!  

This is a really important step towards equality, so get your opinion to count by making a submission, asking your friends and family to make submissions and attending the Equal Love rallies in major cities on August 1.

For more info, visit http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/ and http://www.equallove.info/

Al