Equal Love is an Australian-wide campaign initiated by the

Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby The Victorian Pride Lobby (the Lobby, formerly the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby) is a community-based advocacy group that works towards equality, social justice and advancing human rights for lesbian, gay, queer, bisexual and same-sex a ...

in an attempt to win gay and lesbian couples marriage rights in the country.About
''Equal Love''. Accessed 27 January 2010. The campaign involves a range of community, union, student and activist organisations whose aim is to influence public and government attitudes towards

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

couples through education and direct action.

History

The campaign began in 2004 in response to the Marriage Amendment Bill, introduced by the John Howard government which was passed by the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

in June of that year, which stated that a same-sex union "must not be recognised as a marriage in Australia". In 2009, an Equal Love spokesperson claimed that "60% of Australians support equal

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

rights and the introduction of the gender neutral bill. Equal marriage rights are becoming a significant and central human rights issue." In 2010, tens of thousands of Australians participated in Equal Love demonstrations for same-sex marriage. Equal Love has had the support of Amnesty International, the Australian Greens and other notable individuals such as

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

n Labor Party Minister for Education Bronwyn Pike, ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' star Ian McKellen and '' Australian Idol'' finalist

Rob Mills Robert Mills (born 21 June 1982) is an Australian actor, television host and singer-songwriter. He was one of the finalists from the first season of ''Australian Idol''. He co-hosted the late-night quiz show '' The Mint'', and was a regular sin ...

. In lobbying for same-sex marriage, the two organisations Equal Love and

Community Action Against Homophobia Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) is a community activist organisation based in Sydney, Australia. Since its establishment in 1999, CAAH has aimed to eliminate homophobia and achieve full equality for queer people—defined as ...

share similar objectives.

Notable achievements

Equal Love Convenor Ali Hogg at the August 2011 Rally in Melbourne holding fund-raising buckets

In 2010, Equal Love won an ALSO Foundation award in the category of "Most Significant Activist of the Year" in the Australian LGBT community. The ALSO Foundation is

's largest not-for-profit LGBT

community organisation Community organization or Community Based Organization refers to organization aimed at making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-being, and overall functioning. Community organization occurs in geographically, psychosocially, ...

. Equal Love's Convener, Ali Hogg, won an ALSO award the same year as the "Most Outstanding Volunteer" for her work in the campaign. In 2011, Hogg was recognised in the "Absolut People's Choice" award as the country's most influential LGBT person for her work in Equal Love, as part of Same Same's "25 Most Influential LGBTI Australians". Equal Love were critical of former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's position on same-sex marriage voting against the party policy change and against it becoming a binding vote and allowing members a conscience vote. In 2016 Equal Love and

Australian Marriage Equality Australian Marriage Equality (AME) was an advocacy group driven by volunteers who came together to pursue the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia. AME partnered with a diverse range of organisations and supporters across the country to ...

led the pride parade in St Kilda Victoria; this was the first time both groups had united to demand same-sex marriage. Equal Love criticises Prime Minister

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

with Wallace saying "he’s done us a lot of damage because he’s taken a vote off the table and said the way forward is a plebiscite".

Criticism

Melbourne is the countries largest Equal Love movement but each state and territory manage their own activisms. The Brisbane campaign group has been criticised from within its own ranks, as well as by the wider LGBT community. The criticism has included concern about the close links Equal Love has to both the Socialist Alternative and the Socialist Alliance. The incorporation of other protest-issues within Equal Love rallies, as well as the "offensive" signs, the tee-shirt "profanity", along with the militancy of Equal Love participants have all raised concerns. Equal Love works with other Australian LGBTIQ groups including the

Rodney Croome Rodney Peter Croome AM is an Australian LGBT rights activist and academic. He worked on the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in Tasmania, was a founder of Australian Marriage Equality, and currently serves as the spokesperson for the Tas ...

, national convener of Australian Marriage Equality, has expressed concerns about radical campaigning methods, saying "It is also a double standard to demand respect for same-sex relationships without showing the same respect in return".

National supporters

* Amnesty International *

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Austral ...

*Australian Coalition for Equality *

Australian Education Union The Australian Education Union (AEU) is an Australian trade union, founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, which is registered with Fair Work Australia as an employee group, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Union ...

* Australian Greens *

Australian Services Union The Australian Services Union (registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries. The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trad ...

*Comeout *

Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia (CEPU) is a trade union in Australia. Its full name is the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia as it ...

Community and Public Sector Union CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union (more commonly known as the CPSU) is a national trade union in Australia. The union came into existence on 1 July 1994 with the amalgamation of the Public Sector, Professional, Scientific, Research, ...

Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is the peak representative body for postgraduate students in Australia. CAPA's members are 33 postgraduate associations and the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Ass ...

* Democratic Socialist Perspective *

Finance Sector Union The Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) is a white collar trade union that represents professionals working in the Banking, Finance, Insurance and Superannuation industries in Australia. The FSU was formed from the amalgamation in 1991 of va ...

*Freedom Socialist Party *Gaydar *

Green Left Weekly ''Green Left'', previously known as ''Green Left Weekly'', is an Australian socialist newspaper, written by progressive activists to "present the views excluded by the big business media". The newspaper was founded in 1990. Green Left is the ...

*Human Rights Council of Australia *

Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union United Voice was a large Australian trade union, with over 130,000 members. United Voice members worked in a wide range of occupations including hospitality, childcare, teachers' aides, aged care, property services (cleaning, security, maintenan ...

National Tertiary Education Union The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union, and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector. Overview NTEU ...

* National Union of Students *Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays *Rainbow Labor *Same Same * Socialist Alliance * Socialist Alternative * Young Australian Democrats

Rallies

* 2010 Australian gender equality rallies

References

External links

Equal Love
{{LGBT in Australia LGBT history in Australia LGBT political advocacy groups in Australia 2004 establishments in Australia Same-sex marriage in Australia