Australia says YES to Marriage Equality!

A STATEMENT FROM THE BOARD OF SYDNEY GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS

LOVE WINS! There is no doubt – we live in a nation where the majority of citizens accept and respect our relationships, and reject the lies and fears spread by the NO campaigners. This is a uniting moment which propels our nation forward. Australia has voted YES to marriage equality.

Australian voters were asked to send Parliament a clear message – and they have, in enormous numbers. With a voter turnout of 12.7 million people (79.5% of those enrolled to vote) 61.6% voted in favour of marriage equality. There was a majority YES result in ALL states and territories.

We now urge MPs to act decisively and fairly by voting to enact marriage equality now – updating the Marriage Act to allow all Australians to be able to marry who they love, without small print to enshrine prejudice or discrimination. Prejudice or discrimination should NEVER be accepted or written into law.

We’re looking forward to 2018’s 40th anniversary Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, and the spectacular Parade on Saturday 3 March being a huge celebration of Australia’s hard-won marriage equality at last. We’ll honour ALL our incredible LGBTQI community’s wins across four decades of vibrant activism, creativity and bravery.

In the meantime, as we know thousands of LGBTQI people and their families are getting together to celebrate the YES result today, we want to acknowledge the incredible work YES campaigners across the country and around the globe have done. Whether it’s printing posters, picking up the phone at calling banks, handing out flyers at train stations, or just speaking to as many of your families and friends as you can about why LGBTQI relationships deserve the same dignity and opportunities as any others, we thank you so very much for your time, energy and passion during an extremely challenging time.

We are stronger together and we have achieved so much. We should be proud of ourselves, and sure of our place in the nation we love.