Marching in May at the Rally for Marriage Equality
On Saturday 17th May 2014, I arrived early at the site in Perth to gather for the Rally for Marriage Equality. Marriage of same-sex couples is not (yet) legal in Australia. Furthermore, civil unions (not religious like marriage) only allow couples to be legally joined who live in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory but not in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. For more information that is not legal advice, please see the webpages of Australian Marriage Equality (http://www.australianmarriageequality.org/australian-civil-unions/) and GayLawNet (http://www.gaylawnet.com/laws/au_state.htm).
My intention was to promote Words of Experience to people waiting for the rally to start. Weather in Perth had been variable but now the sun was shining and it looked like the sky wasn’t going to rain on this parade! The atmosphere was quite relaxed as people gathering were talking about various worthy causes to those passing by. Along with discussions on socialism and writing books I spread the message that Words of Experience was a free download e-book.
A dedicated group of people had gathered along with me to listen to speeches. Some wore bright colours and visible symbols of their opposition to regimentation in society and commitment to peace and freedom for LGBT people. I found the speeches very motivating and listening reassured me that Words of Experience was needed out there, especially where people felt like they had to stay in the closet and could not come out as LGBT.
