Australia’s leading marriage equality advocate, Alex Greenwich, believes the achievement of marriage equality in New York shows civil unions are not a necessary step towards reform.
In an article published today on the New Matilda website, Mr Greenwich, who is the national convener of Australian Marriage Equality, also says the New York campaign highlights the key role of coalition-building and political leadership in achieving full equality.
“New York is very similar to Australia, demographically, politically and in its support for marriage equality, so it has some very valuable lessons for us”, Mr Greenwich said.
“Chief among these is there no need to go through a ‘civil union phase’ before we achieve full equality.”
“Other lessons include the importance of building broad coalitions, personal story-telling, the support of centre-right MPs and strong political leadership in achieving reform.”
Mr Greenwich’s article also predicts religious exemptions will be the final hurdle to marriage equality in Australia, as they were in New York.
“In Australia, churches already have exemptions that allow them to refuse to marry or provide services to particular couples.”
“Tere is no need for further exemptions”, Mr Greenwich said.
Mr Greenwich will meet leading marriage equality campaigners in New York City in August.
“The experience New York campaigners have to offer their Australian counterparts is invaluable”, Mr Greenwich said.
For a copy of the article, click here
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Meanwhile, Australian Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, has made a speech in Parliament applauding developments in New York. To read the full speech, click here