Thousands march for same-sex marriage
Local News, By Matt Akersten, 15th May, 2010
www.samesame.com.au
Over 2,000 people took to the streets in Melbourne, over 1,000 rallied in Sydney, and many more protested in Brisbane, Wollongong, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth this afternoon as the ongoing fight for same-sex marriage continues across Australia.
Lord of the Rings’ wizard star Sir Ian McKellen stirred the Melbourne crowd outside the Victorian State Library with his coming out story, telling the crowd why the ongoing struggle for LGBT equality around the world is so important to him. The assembled protesters also enjoyed a show from drag diva Pollyfilla (pictured).
Meanwhile in Sydney, gay radio personality and newsreader on 2dayFM Geoff Field MC’ed a 1,000-strong rally outside the Town Hall. An audio message from Dannii Minogue pledging her total support for the casue was played to the cheering throng. Armed with a mixture of signs, banners, and a giant rainbow flag, the rally then made its way noisily through the streets of central Sydney to Hyde Park, where a 100,000 signature petition supporting same-sex marriage was handed to a Green MP for presentation to Parliament.
Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) co-convenor Ben Cooper tells Same Same he’s very happy with the crowd numbers in Sydney, which are easily double those of the last rally back in March.
Other major Australian cities also held marches, with many including light-hearted ‘kiss in’ photo opportunities.
Another day of protest action is planned for 14 August, marking the anniversary of the date Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sought to outlaw same-sex marriage Australia-wide.
Check out Same Same’s gallery of images from this afternoon’s rally in Sydney. We’ll feature more photos and reports from other centres in coming days.
