Hi Everyone! Happy New Year!
Well, it seems that all those pesky New Years resolutions that we made last December in a fit of over-optimistic enthusiasm are now looking to be fulfilled, Gay and Lesbian Equality has every intention of living up to our resolution and motto of ‘Nothing Less than Full Equality’ in 2011.
This year is set to be an extremely busy one, and potentially the start of something quite historic. The National Australian Labor Party conference takes place in December of this year, and if community members, activists and GLBTI advocates are successful in getting enough support within the ALP to change the party’s policy on same-sex marriage – there is a good chance that it may well finally result in the 2004 Marriage Ban being repealed, and a major obstacle to full equality being removed.
We have also recently seen New South Wales introduce anti-bullying programs into highschools that target homophobia and transphobia, as well as educating young people about the effects of abuse and harassment on the basis of sexuality or gender-identity. GALE will be campaigning for the introduction of similar measures in Western Australia.
But, for any of this to happen – we need your help.
Following Adam Bandt’s successful motion in the Senate last year, Federal Members of Parliament have been instructed to consult their constituents regarding their stance on GLBTI issues, such as same-sex marriage, discrimination, adoption and family matters, as well as issues relating to trans* and gender-diverse Australians.
As you may know, we still have considerable opposition to Equality by a minority of powerful and well resourced organisations that consider only their version of ‘family’ or ‘marriage’ to be deserving of respect or acknowledgement. Therefore, it is vital that there is a strong and vocal show of support from the majority of community members that do support equal rights for GLBTI Australians and their families.
So – What can you do to help? Well – there are a few things to choose from:
Contact Your Local Member
Write a letter, send an email or make a phone call to tell them how you feel about GLBTI equality. Better yet, schedule an appointment to meet them in person at their office. They are elected to represent you, and should make the time to hear what you have to say.
Click HERE to find out which electorate you live in
Click HERE for a full list of contact details for your Member in the House of Representatives
Click HERE for a full list of contact details for all the WA Senators
Use the Media
The media is both a means by which policy makers will judge the prevalent community attitudes, as well as a way to get the message out to others Either by contributing a letter to the editor (or an newspaper/magazine article if you have that opportunity), writing or sharing a blog post, or by calling talk-back radio to voice your opinions.
Your fifteen minutes – Sign onto the GALE Media Network
GALE are often asked by both local and national media to recommend same-sex and/or gender-diverse families and individuals to journalists who are chasing stories to do with GLBTI law reform or events. Therefore, we are always on the look-out for non-camera shy people that are happy to be featured in media coverage of relevant stories.
We are especially interested in couples that wish to marry, GLBTI families with children, as well as young people of diverse sexuality and gender, as we will be focusing strongly on relationship recognition, trans/gender issues and homo/transphobia in education.
Click here to register for the Media Contact List.
Join us!
The best thing that you can do to help instigate change, is to get involved directly. GALE is always looking for new and dynamic people to add to our committee to contribute their
ideas, skills and experience. Help us create campaigns, organise events and maintain our working relationships with the public and policy makers.
e-mail info@galewa.asn.au or head over to th e info section of the G ALE site to find out more about
joining up!
You can help both GALE and your community by telling your story and making sure that our voices are heard and acknowle dged by the public, and by policy makers. 2011 has some pretty interesting times, and some tough demands ahead for GLBTI reform – but with a little help from our friends, I think that our New Years Resolutions are achievable after all.
Kitty Hawkins
Gay and Lesbian Equality Co-Convenor.
kitty@galewa.asn.au
