If you’re a member of the ALP tell the Party it’s time for marriage equality

Ahead of its National Conference in December, the Labor Party is seeking feedback from its members and supporters on its National Policy.

Currently, the Policy includes a commitment to not allowing same-sex couples to marry.

We urge all supporters of equality to tell the Labor Party it’s time to remove this commitment and put a commitment to full equality in its place.

You can send in your views by going to the designated webform

Once there take the following steps:

1. enter your name

2. select Chapter 7 – Securing an inclusive future for all Australians

3. enter “Marriage” as the topic of your submission

4. select “individual” as the type of submission you are making (unless you represent a union or ALP Branch)

5. write your submission of up to 700 words. Please include your personal story, as well as the following points.

6. after this you will be asked to enter your ALP membership number and/or your other affiliations with the Party.

CORE POINTS YOU SHOULD INCLUDE

WHAT IS LABOR POLICY ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, AND WHY SHOULD IT CHANGE

• Currently Labor policy is committed to marriage only being between a man and a woman, precluding same-sex marriages (Chapter 7, clause 142)
• Not allowing same-sex couples to marry is against Labor’s commitment to equality, choice and inclusion. It can also be seen as pandering to prejudice against same-sex relationships
• Allowing same-sex couples to marry is supported by 74% of ALP voters (details here), and a majority of ALP State Leaders (details here)
• Allowing same-sex couples to marry will
  • remove discrimination from the law and bring full legal equality for same-sex couples
  • remove stigma from these couples and their families
  • remove the stigma of discrimination from the institution of marriage
  • allow these couples and their families to have the benefits of marriage including legal security and community inclusion
  • bring Labor policy into line with the 60% of Australians who support this reform, the 85% of same-sex couples who support it, and the 75% of Australians who believe it is inevitable.

WHY ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF RECOGNITION ARE NOT SUFFICIENT

• Same-sex partners can legally be considered de facto partners. But to qualify they have to jump through hoops like living together for a certain period. They may have to prove they are de facto partners by producing evidence of a shared life. De facto entitlements differ between the states and are not recognised overseas
• The difficulties proving de facto status are a particular problem in emergency situation where quick decisions must be made by a same-sex spouse.
• A marriage certificate gives instant and guaranteed access to relationship entitlements. It is also much more widely recognised and respected than de facto status.
• Civil unions are not as widely understood or respected as marriages.
• Creating a separate name for same-sex relationships entrenches a different, discriminatory, second-class status for these relationships.

FURTHER POINTS YOU MAY CHOOSE TO INCLUDE

WHAT ABOUT RESPECTING THE RELIGIOUS ORIGINS OF MARRIAGE?

• In our society marriage is governed by civil law and not by biblical values, for example we allow marriage between people of different faiths or no faith. We also allow divorce although some churches are against it.
• Some Christian churches currently solemnise same-sex marriages and are discriminated against because the Government doesn’t recognise these marriages in the same way it recognises the opposite-sex marriages performed in other churches.
• Religious celebrants are free to refuse to marry couples whose relationship they don’t agree with and this freedom will remain when marriage equality is achieved.

WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?

• The law does not say married opposite-sex couples must have children. This is why we allow infertile couples to marry. Using the infertility argument against same-sex couples is a double-standard.
• As many as 25% of same-sex couples are raising children. By allowing parents in these families the right to marry we are providing their children with the same rights, respect and recognition as other children.
• The Australian Psychological Society has found that children raised by same-sex couples are just as well adjusted, psychologically, sexually, intellectually and socially as their peers.

WILL MARRIAGE EQUALITY CHANGE MARRIAGE?

• The rules governing marriage have changed many times, for example, wives are no longer treated as the property of their husbands, we prohibit rape in marriage, and we allow divorce.
• But the basic definition of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a loving couple has not changed and will not change.

WILL MARRIAGE EQUALITY DEMEAN OR DESTROY MARRIAGE?

• In countries which allow same-sex couples to marry, marriage still exists, no opposite-sex marriages have been harmed, and the rates of younger heterosexual people marrying has actually increased.
• Someone who thinks their own marriage is threatened by same-sex marriages must not have a very strong marriage.
• Incestuous and polygamous relationships have not been legitimised in any of the many countries that allow same-sex couples to marry.