Gay Marriage: Inciting a backlash, or dragging along too slowly?

[janjo]

Why?

[Sandy]

Great news, donna.

[tfferg]

In Australia, the Greens have a gay marriage bill before the Senate and a Committee is conducting an inquiry for which submissions close on Monday. At the moment, there have been some 10 000 submissions in favour and some 13 000 opposed, which doesn't fit the public opinion polls which show more than 62% Australians in favour. Certain religious organisations and lobby groups have been whipping up a flood of opposition. The Senate Committee has said it will make its judgment on both the volume and the quality of submissions. I hope the quality criterion will have more weight. Opponents' submissions have been illogical, and fear-mongering and many show no understanding of the legal basis of marriage anyway.

Simultaneously, a government member has a private member's gay marriage bill and the Greens have one before the House of Representatives which also has a Committee conducting an inquiry.

On a lighter note, ABC TV last night screened the first mass gay TV wedding on the Adam Hills in Gordon Street show. It's a talk show hosted by a stand-up comedian. At the start of the current season, he asked the audience what they would do if they were prime minister for a day. The highest number of responses was legislate gay marriage. The host then arranged for a woman audience member to propose to her partner on the show. He announced that the show would give them a wedding on TV and invited other couples to join in a mass wedding. Stephen Fry sent a loving video message, saying he was honoured to do so. Some 200 couples applied but the studio could only accommodate 41 couples. Last week's show included a gay and lesbian hens' and bucks' night. At the end of last night's show, the cast, guests and audience moved to the other studio where the wedding couples had been making red carpet entrances.
 
A viewer in her 80s who had just celebrated her 67th anniversary with her husband sent in a silver sixpence which the host put in the shoe of one of the brides.

Adam Hills conducted quite a little ceremony having the gay and lesbian couples repeat vows that had been composed from their suggestions. They were a terrific mixture of expressions of genuine love and commitment and humour. The whole thing was rather moving.

Adam Hills made the point that although the wedding had no legal validity, fans of soap operas (quoting well-known Australian examples such as the young Kylie Minogue's character and another pop singer's character's wedding on Neighbours) take weddings on them as real and so the first mass gay TV wedding was real.

BTW Huffington Post Weddings has an article on it with some photos.

[lislis]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74661.html

Just a few years ago, House Republicans were trying to etch their
opposition of gay marriage into the Constitution.

Now? They’re almost silent.

[bubba]

http://www.tmz.com/2012/04/14/brad-pitt-angelina-jolie-engaged-gay-marriage/

[desertrat]

To people living in Portland/ Oregon:

The Right To Love: An American Family, the movie about the Leffew family and their youtube channel,  Gay Family Values, is going to get screened in Portland on Friday, 15 June 2012 in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, Portland.

I have repeatedly introduced Jay and Bryan and their incredibly courageous decision to show their family to the public in answer to Prop. 8 that threatened to take their marriage away and subsequently make their life together with their wonderful adopted kids, Selina and Daniel, increasingly difficult. The aim of their video clips was to show that they are a normal family, just like any other family. And what we get to see is really heart warming and so "normal" that you wish there were more straight families working as well as this one. Jay is a police officer and Bryan a stay-at-home dad, their two kids are charming and cute (oh, did I forget to mention that the two dads are pretty cute, too? ).

Filmmaker Cassie Jaye met them 2 years ago and decided to make a documentary from the footage they filmed and some new work of hers. The film is currently touring festivals and screenings of LGBT groups, churches etc. It is not available for sale yet, but it is possible to get a screening package at the Right To Love Homepage: http://www.r2lmovie.com/

Watch the trailer to this great documentary here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RclFT71GmVc

[Sandy]

Thanks, martina, for the heads up and the link.

[tfferg]

In the Australian House of Representatives Committee's online survey which closed on Friday, 177, 663 people (64%) out of 276, 437 agreed that same-sex marriage should be legalised. 77.5% agreed that clergy should not be obliged to marry same-sex couples.

Australian Marriage Equality  cooordinator Alex Greenwood says no other reform has ever motivated as many Australians to engage in a parliamentary inquiry.

[Cally]

Very positive news, Tony.

[ingmarnicebbmt]

Here's to Australia !

[donna]

Not sure where to put this sweet video.  It's short- less than 2 minutes.  I'll put it here and you can link it to the military thread, if you'd like.

Homecoming

[Cally]

Beautiful.

It also led me to complete the UK Equal Marriage Survey and sign the petition - I hadn't been aware before that there was a government-sponsored survey.

[Sason]

Yes, beautiful.

And I like that it's so simple.The message is convincingly conveyed in very few images.

[fritzkep]

A wonderful, simple, beautiful video. Thank you!

Already up in the Military thread!

[tfferg]

Wow!