Elton John and Gareth Thomas may be on the Royal Wedding guest lists, but activists are urging the royal family to take it a step further and support marriage rights for same-sex couples. Members of the Equal Love campaign gathered outside Buckingham Palace earlier this week, waving pink versions of the Union Jack and unwrapping a giant greeting card bearing a photograph of the Kate and Wills, who are marrying on Friday. The card read: "Congratulations, William and Kate, on your Wedding Day. You can get married, gay people can't.... We ask you to support marriage equality." In Australia, where the battle for marriage equality continues to rage, a mass email campaign has been launched to politicians. "Since federal parliament endorsed a motion calling on MPs to consult on marriage equality, politicians have received thousands of anti-equality emails, so now it's time for supporters of equality to make their voices heard too", says Australian Marriage Equality National Convener Alex Greenwich. Australian Marriage Equality and Get Up! will be key sponsors of the live, outdoor, public screenings of the royal wedding in Sydney on Friday. Sponsorship will include screenings of a marriage equality television advertisement, as well as distribution of giftbags with information about marriage equality and a wedding cake served to spectators from Gaycakes. The two groups hope to send the message that many gay and lesbian Australians share William and Kate's aspiration to marry and share a life together. “The buzz around the royal wedding is a good example of why marriage is important to so many people – as a way of expressing commitment to a loved one and having your relationship recognised by the rest of our society,” GetUp spokesperson Paul Mackay says. “It's time the for Government to support equality and fairness for all couples.” Prime Minister Julia Gillard will be attending the wedding with her de facto partner, Tim Matheson. Also in attendance will be along Elton John and husband David Furnish, and openly-gay rugby player Gareth Thomas. The official wedding poem will be written by out lesbian Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 28th April 2011 - 2:20pm