Same-sex support
Marriage celebrants join forces to apply political pressure
GEELONG region civil celebrants are up for the fight for equal rights.
The burgeoning Geelong Celebrants for Marriage Equality group is raising the political pressure locally in its push to see same-sex marriage introduced.
Co-founder Anita Jenkins said the group had written to Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson and was meeting with her in the coming weeks to advance the issue.
“We don’t want to sit back anymore and wait, we want to do something,” Ms Jenkins said.
“We want her to lobby for a free vote in Parliament because that’s what needs to happen ASAP.”
After attending a marriage equality seminar in mid-May, Ms Jenkins and Nicole Penning have started and grown the group to include 54 local celebrants.
Ms Jenkins said the membership was about 70 per cent of all known celebrants in the region.
The group is also talking to wedding suppliers about joining in the fight for same-sex marriage, which Ms Jenkins said was seen as a basic civil right.
“This is something that is now recognised and accepted in many countries around the world, and Australia is increasingly being seen as outdated and out of step,” she said.
Ms Jenkins said that the group would focus on convincing Ms Henderson of the need for a conscience vote in Federal Parliament.
Ms Henderson declared her support for same-sex marriage back in June 2015, when she stated that Coalition MPs should be free to vote on the issue.
But she later backed the Federal Government’s proposed plebiscite, saying many Australians had strong views on same-sex marriage.