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Australia’s oldest gay and lesbian advocacy group, the NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (GLRL), will be leading the call for same-sex relationship equality at today’s Mardi Gras parade. In a float titled “Modern Lives, Stone Age Rights”, over 70 marchers will be dressed in The Flintstones cartoon theme to comment on the Stone Age laws which deny same-sex relationships and families equal rights.
“The gay and lesbian community have clearly articulated to us that the legal recognition of same-sex relationships and families are important issues in the upcoming NSW and federal elections,” said GLRL Policy and Development Coordinator, Ghassan Kassisieh. Speaking on the results of the GLRL’s comprehensive consultation on same-sex relationship recognition, which interviewed over 1,300 people, Kassisieh added: “Our consultation highlighted overwhelming support in the gay and lesbian community for the equal recognition of same-sex relationships in federal de facto and marriage laws, as well as the establishment of a civil union scheme.” Same-sex couples continue to face discrimination in a host of federal areas, including superannuation, immigration, taxation, Medicare, defence force entitlements, social security and veterans benefits. On a state level, unlike Western Australia and the ACT, NSW refuses to recognise same-sex families, in areas including adoption and parenting.
Marchers on the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby float will tonight highlight Australia’s stagnant record of reform which lags behind other developed nations, such as the UK, New Zealand and Canada, in providing equal rights to people living in same-sex partnerships.
A fully choreographed marching group will include Betty/Wilma and Fred/Barney Flintstones same-sex couplings, same-sex families in foot-powered Flint Mobiles, as well as an army of cavemen and women, calling for a modern age of equality.
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