Increased pressure has fallen on the federal government to eliminate same-sex discrimination after a recent poll which found that the majority of Australians did not oppose gay marriage drew support from international gay lobby groups.
Australian Marriage Equality (AME) said last month's poll, which found 57 per cent of Australians agreed that gay couples should have the right to marry, sparked international interest from individuals and organisations.
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Evan Wolfson
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"AME has received congratulatory emails from people whose faith in the fair-mindedness of ordinary Australians has been affirmed by this poll," said Sharon Dane, AME's national convenor.
"International advocates have been quick to remind us that where the people lead, politicians always eventually follow."
The poll, conducted by Galaxy and commissioned by lobby group GetUp! also found that nearly three in four people said they want gay couples to have the same legal entitlements as those in de facto heterosexual relationships.
Evan Wolfson (pictured), director of New York-based Freedom to Marry said: "Like many people around the world, in places as diverse as Canada and Colombia, Western Europe and South Africa, and even states in the USA, fair-minded Australians are taking a fresh look at how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one. The politicians are lagging behind the people in the recognition that fundamental freedom and basic fairness are undermined when couples who have made a commitment in life are denied the equal commitment under the law. That commitment is called marriage."
In the UK, Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger, the married same-sex couple at the centre of a landmark UK High Court battle for equal marriage said: "It is distressing and hurtful when governments and courts refuse to grant full legal equality in marriage to same-sex couples, as we have discovered in our own struggle in the UK. But we take heart that, as public opinion swings to equality, so will public officials."
The calls follow moves by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) in New York, which urged the government to take action on the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) report released last month. The report found that same-sex people were discriminated against in 58 federal laws.
"Howard's government claims that it is 'defending marriage,' but in reality its policies hurt families," said Boris Dittrich, HRW's advocacy director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program. "The government's own human rights commission has confirmed that denying equal rights can damage and divide same-sex couples and their children."
Dane said that the international support was both symbolic and significant. "It's hugely important to us," she told SX. "We can actually work together with them on this. The idea is that if people from overseas are seeing a change in Australian attitudes, we believe that it puts more pressure on Australian politicians to follow suit."