Australian Marriage Equality (AME) has
congratulated a number of Liberal MPs
for speaking out on the issue of same
sex marriage.
Warren
Entsch, with the backing of Judi Moylan,
Mal Washer, Petro Georgiou and others
has been lobbying senior Government
Ministers. They have been arguing that
Australia is being left behind by
refusing to legally recognise same
sex relationships.
"I am
fiercely heterosexual ... but having
said that I have some dear (homosexual)
friends that have been in relationships
a lot longer than I have and are
unconditionally committed and I would be
a hypocrite if I said those people have
less of an entitlement than I would," Mr
Entsch said.
Ms
Moylan said the issue was one the
Government would have to address in the
new year.
AME
National spokesperson, Peter Furness,
said that "Labor has been caught on the
back foot".
"One
Labor MP with a large gay and lesbian
constituency refused point blank last
month to even meet with fellow Labor MPs
to discuss recognition of same sex
relationships saying that they had other
priorities.
"Progressive Liberal MPs are clearly
doing much more than anyone in the Labor
Party", said Peter Furness.
AME
believes that whilst civil unions and
other forms of partnership registration
will extend some or all of the practical
benefits of marriage to same sex couples
and their children, they do not address
the discrimination.
"Supporting such schemes without also
supporting equal marriage rights is
like telling
Rosa Parkes not to complain as there is
no practical difference between the
front and back of the bus," said Peter
Furness.
