Australia: Gay marriage becomes key issue in election run-in | Asian Correspondent

Australia: Gay marriage becomes key issue in election run-in | Asian Correspondent
Rowena Dela Rosa Yoon, Aug 14, 2013

Marriage equality is one among the priority issues in this year’s federal election scheduled on Sept. 7.

Prime Minister and Australian Labor Party (ALP) leader Kevin Rudd promised that a re-elected government under Labor will put forward a bill that will legalise marriage equality within 100 days. The declaration was made during a debate with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott at the National Press Club in Canberra last Sunday.

PM Kevin Rudd (right) and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott (right) up for federal election.

The ALP has already launched a signature campaign, It’s time: Marriage Equality, to gather support. The party says Rudd needs a strong public endorsement to make what he has promised possible. The signature campaign is up and running with more than 7,000 supporters (as of press time) and counting.

Australian Marriage Equality, an advocacy group at the forefront of the issue, said marriage equality is of urgent concern among young voters. Showing a recent poll conducted by the Australian Institute, the group said the poll indicates that young voters see marriage equality as a “signature issue” that will strongly influence who they vote for. The group also warned that failure of Abbott or the Coalition MPs to make a conscience vote will not get the votes of young people.

The message to candidates is that support for marriage equality is the way to attract young voters….In particular, the message to Tony Abbott and the Coalition is that failure to allow Coalition MPs a conscience vote on marriage equality is driving away young voters.

Abbott, known for his conservative views on gays and lesbians, softened his stance during Sunday’s debate. The opposition leader announced he is supporting gay and lesbian rights.
Abbott, a former Catholic seminarian, has been vilified by his detractors as sexist and homophobic.

However, today he is under fire from various groups after a radio interview in which he said he would not be swayed on “fashion of the moment” issues.

This reinforces his old homophobic view. A few months ago Abbott gave an interview to News Limited Network in which admitted he would not allow a conscience vote on gay marriage while LP’s consistent position was against it.  “Coalition party policy is that marriage is between a man and a woman,” he was quoted as saying.

In a separate interview in 2010, Abbott was asked about his views on homosexuality in which he said, “I probably feel a bit threatened, as so many people do. It’s a fact of life.” He told ABC TV, “There is no doubt that (homosexuality) challenges, if you like, orthodox notions of the right order of things.”

The recent debate then questions Abbott’s sincerity on his election promises.
Rudd said church can keep its tradition, while gays and lesbians will find their way into the system.

Upcoming rallies to support marriage equality (Photo: Gay Marriage Rights in Australia)

The Greens have been supporting GLBTI rights issues (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex individuals). Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Adam Bandt have bills before Parliament that seek to remove discrimination from the Marriage Act and give same-sex couples the right to marry. The bills, however, have faced tremendous challenge before the conservative majority.

The Greens’ LGBTI spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said if Kevin Rudd is genuine about marriage equality, he will need to work across the Parliament and convince all parties from across the political spectrum to work together to achieve marriage equality.
In a party statement, the Greens claims they have led the way on marriage equality and have long been ready and willing to work with all parties to achieve it. ”The Greens plan for a bill to be cosponsored by members of all three parties is the only way to overcome the political impasse and actually achieve equality,” the party said.

Thailand mulls lifting ban on gay marriage | Asian Correspondent

Thailand mulls lifting ban on gay marriage | Asian Correspondent
Casey Hynes, Aug 02, 2013 

Gay rights and the legalization of same-sex marriage has been a major story around the world this summer, particularly with the fall of the United States’ Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which for years prevented same-sex couples from receiving federal recognition.
Now it appears that Thailand might also take steps toward equality gay couples by becoming the first Southeast Asian nation to allow same-sex marriage. A draft of a new law that will be submitted to parliament would give same-sex couples in Thailand the right to legally marry, according to InterPress Service News Agency (IPS).

This effort toward marriage equality is being led by politician Wiratana Kalayasiri, who also chairs the Legal Justice Human Rights Committee.

IPS quotes Kalayasiri as saying, “At first, there was a negative impression and people were wondering why I was doing this but as this process went on people started to understand that this is a human right of the Thai people, guaranteed under the constitution. Since then minds have changed.”

Many have pointed to the 2012 case in which a couple who had been together for 20 years tried to marry legally, and were denied by authorities in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. That couple insisted that they were guaranteed equal rights under the constitution and brought their case to the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, the Administrative Court and the National Human Rights Commission.

Kalayasiri described the support he has already seen for the proposed law.

“We have held five hearings on the bill at several universities throughout Thailand and in parliament as well. A survey of 200-300 people showed that 78 percent are in favour of allowing same-sex marriage and 10.3 percent are against it,” he said.

“I was particularly surprised when we went to Songkhla [a city of roughly 75,000 people] for a public meeting and 87 percent of Muslims in attendance were in favour [of gay marriage].”

The Asian Diplomat noted that while youth in Thailand are generally accepting of LGBT individuals and gay couples, older generations are more rigidly opposed – and it’s this demographic that does the decision-making in parliament. The situation is not unique to Thailand, but staunch anti-gay marriage sentimentality or discrimination against LGBT people seems strange in a country where “ladyboys” are such a prominent part of the culture.

But even they are discriminated against, as transgendered people cannot change their genders or names on major forms of identification, an issue that IPS says leads to harassment and a host of problems in instances such as border crossings.

In addition to the simple fact that all people should be able to marry whomever they choose, many activists in the gay rights fight acknowledge that the legal issues and protections are vital components as well.

LGBT activist Anjana Suvarnananda was quoted as saying, “If there is a severe accident or health issue, like if my partner becomes ill, then in the eyes of the law I am no one other than just a friend. This forces us [in the LGBT community] to struggle by ourselves. We want more security.”

IPS noted that the passage of a this type of law could have far-reaching effects when it comes to public health as well. The news service stated that:

Thailand has the highest adult HIV rate in Southeast Asia, with nearly 520,000 people between the ages of 15 and 49 living with HIV/AIDS; a 2010 survey in Bangkok found that 31 percent of gay men and transgendered people are HIV-positive.

In a society that was more accepting of gay and transgender people and relationships, there might be more incentive to get tested for HIV/AIDS and other medical conditions, thereby reducing the infection rate over the long-term.

Thailand is a major player in Southeast Asia, enmeshed in the region’s economic and political future. If Thailand were to make same-sex marriage legal, it could signal to other countries that this is a right that should be granted to citizens and promote greater tolerance and understanding there as well.

Change will not happen in Thailand overnight, but hopefully with continuing pressure from activists and from the public, the government will let people marry whomever they want, and take on names they have chosen for themselves.