Monthly Archives: August 2011

Rally and March for Equal Marriage Rights – Melbourne, 13 August 2011

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"Polly Filla", "Bumpa Love" drag acts with make dancer on stage

Drag queens provided a colourful finale to a rally that really shouldn’t have been necessary, a point made by more than one speaker – seven years since the re-writing on the Marriage Act to exclude same-sex couples, and seven years of rallying and campaigning for equality is seven years too long. Unlike the ‘dress rehearsal’ the previous Wednesday, when the attendance must have been a shade disappointing for the organisers, this time all available space at the State Library was filled, and the march and marriage celebration outside the Victorian Registry Office certainly no less impressive than the last – though there was no sign of the red-haired Julia Gillard puppet from last August, which was a shame….
The accompanying videos should speak for themselves as to what was said and done, with just a few photos here for good measure.

From the Facebook page for the event:

Rally for Equal Marriage rights! No to homophobia! No to Discrimination!

All LGBTI & Straight people who support marriage equality are invited to come to Australia’s largest illegal wedding ceremony and protest march.

On the seventh anniversary of the marriage act being re-written, we at Equal Love and the majority of Australians demand equal rights now!

7 years of marriage inequality is 7 years too long! Come and tell the ALP to change the marriage act now!

In the lead up to the ALP national conference later this year it’s vital that ALL LGBTI and supporters of this campaign come out in our thousands at this rally and illegal wedding!

Prizes on offer for best placard, so get your creative juices flowing and bring out the Texta. Certificates will be given to those couple wanting to take part in the ceremony to take place on the steps of the Marriage Registry. Get our those wedding garments and join us at the countries biggest rally for Marriage Equality hosted by Tracy Bartram in Melbourne on Sat 13 August.

Tracy Bartram at the microphone

Tracy Bartram was an 'outspoken' MC...

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Annette Xiberras

Wurundjeri elder Annette Xiberras gave a "Welcome to Country"


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Some placards in the crowd:
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Placard - If Jesus had 2 dads, then why can't I?

Placard - Always the Best Man, never the f......g bride
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ASU Branch Secretary Ingrid Stitt

ASU Branch Secretary Ingrid Stitt

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Nathan Valvo

Nathan Valvo


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Placard - They can marry in New York (Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street)

Another placard in the crowd


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Jade Eckhaus, NUS Queer Officer

Jade Eckhaus, NUS Queer Officer


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Videos:
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The rally –
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The march –
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The marriage –

See also Equal Love Victoria.

Equal Love ‘Wedding Rehearsal’ in Bourke Street Mall – Melbourne, 10 August 2011

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Leading up to the rally planned for Saturday 13 August marking the 7th anniversary of the re-writing of the Marriage Act to exclude same-sex couples, Equal Love held a mid-week ‘Wedding Rehearsal’ in the Bourke Street Mall today, Wednesday:

'Bride' and 'groom' pose with 'clergyman' and page-boy and bridesmaid in Mall

It was a very small affair but attracted a lot of attention, no doubt helped by the presence of a suitably dressed ‘bride’ and very young attendants, who also took a turn with the leafletting:

Child offers leaflet to passer-by
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Schoolgirls gather around the pageboy and bridesmaid

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Man in military uniform ignores children with leaflets

No luck with this one ....

Whether rain kept possible participants away is hard to say, but preparations for the main rally are certainly not being helped by the unexplained disappearance of the Equal Love website – there remains, however, a Facebook event page.

Equal Love convenor Ali Hogg addressed passers-by:
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Ali Hogg with megaphone
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as did the representative of the clergy:
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Man dressed as priest speaks from behind Equal Love banner
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There was then a sort of wedding procession through the Mall, heading ultimately for Parliament House:

Moving with placards through the shoppers
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Moving past David Jones store
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Outside Sportsgirl store
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The 'bride' poses outside jewellers store
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Placard advertising the rally on the 13th of August at the State Library

Ali has given a recent interview to Melbourne Community Voice .

MC at the upcoming rally will be Tracy Bartram, and an interview with her can be read here.

The rally has been advertised on Melbourne Indymedia’s Event Calendar.

6 August 2011 at the GPO – Hiroshima Day vigil and more

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Women in Black and Japanese for Peace banners on steps of GPO

Representatives of Japanese for Peace and ICAN held a low-key vigil on the steps of the old GPO in Bourke Street, displaying banners and handing out flyers for the afternoon’s Peace Concert at the State Library and postcards relating to the Future Fund’s investments in the nuclear weapons industry (see The Age 26 May 2011; there is an article on the same subject in the current issue of Friends of the Earth’s Chain Reaction). They shared the venue with members of Women in Black also holding a vigil calling for peace in Palestine:

Women in Black banner on steps of GPO

The main event of the day was of course the concert, and the vigil was a very small affair, but a good many passers-by took the offered leaflets or at least had their attention caught by the banners and the traditional Japanese cranes:

Japanese for Peace banner

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Paper crane at foot of one of the pillars

One of the speakers listed for the Peace Concert was Felicity Hill of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom,and a WILPF banner can be seen attracting attention here:

WILPF banner on steps of GPO

And the message ‘No More Hiroshimas’ was displayed in more than one way:

Placard and t-shirt with 'No More Hiroshimas' message