ID :
73340
Sat, 08/01/2009 - 19:43
Auther :

Gays and lesbians `wed` in protest

Rainbow flags, wedding dresses, high heel boots and disco music were de rigueur in
cities across Australia, as thousands of people rallied in support of same sex
marriage.
More than 250 couples even tied the knot, albeit illegally, to mark the occasion.
More than 8,000 people took part in the national protests, organisers said.
In Sydney's CBD Aretha Franklin's R.E.S.P.E.C.T. blared from the speakers and
placards saying "Legalise gay marriage" were waved in the air, as protesters
assembled outside Town Hall.
The crowd of 1,500 then marched to Darling Harbour, where Labor's National
Conference was being held.
There they attended a wedding ceremony for 150 gay, lesbian and transgender couples.
Nicholas Tyson, 32, and his partner Darryn Skelly, 35, were among the couples
married at Darling Harbour by Pastor Karl Hand from the Metropolitan Community
Church.
"We're not asking for more than straight couples. We just want the same," Tyson told
AAP.
There were roses, wedding veils and even a three-tiered cake in Melbourne, when 65
couples got hitched on the steps of the city's registry office.
Participant Kathy said the service was a step in the right direction but expressed
frustration at the wait for legislative change.
"I guess it's a little bit sad that we still have to be here fighting for the chance
to show our love for each other," she told AAP.
"We want the same rights as anyone else."
The service followed a colourful rally at Federation Square as almost 4,000 people
draped in rainbow colours waved banners and balloons that read "Equal Love".
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young told the mostly young crowd the traditional view
of marriage as only between a man and a woman was out of date.
It was an emotional scene in Brisbane with hundreds of gay and lesbian supporters
descending on Queen's Park. The feel-good crowd chanted: "This is what democracy
sounds like."
Some had piercings, tattoos or coloured hair, while others wore more conservative
attire.
One woman stood at the back of the crowd with a single placard that read: "Why don't
my daughters have the same rights as yours?"
The rally included a wedding ceremony involving three same-sex couples led by the
Reverend Leigh Neighbour of the Metropolitan Community Church.
In the nation's capital 100 people rallied in the city's shopping district.
Canberra couple Tonya and Fran, the parents of two children, said their 13-year
relationship had been undermined by the government's refusal to let them marry.
"I think marriage is the only thing that brings you equal to everyone else in
society ... that's the only way that we're going to be recognised as a family,"
Tonya said.


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