Equality advocates are disappointed that one-time marriage equality advocate, Warren Entsch, has used the launch of a Parliamentary Friendship Group for the GLBTI Community to announce his support for a civil union scheme, something advocates say will entrench discrimination against gay and lesbian Australians.
Australian Marriage Equality, National Convener, Alex Greenwich said,
“Giving gay and lesbian people a different type of relationship status is like giving us a different type of drivers’ license, it entrenches discrimination rather than removing it.”
“The Friendship Group was designed to promote ‘the fair and equitable’ treatment of the GLBTI community, not to promote schemes that are best described as relationship apartheid”.
The other co-chairs of the friendship group, Labor’s Graham Perrett and the Green’s Senator Sarah Hanson-Young have declared their support for full marriage equality.
Reports of Mr. Entsch’s comments can be found here
The case against Civil Unions can be found here
For more information contact Alex Greenwich on 0421 316 335.