On a long weekend where many were glued to screens during football finals, voices of protesters calling for Australian marriage equality rang loudly through Civic at Saturday's Equal Love Canberra rally
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Chanting "Homophobia's got to go" and "Queer, straight, black white ... marriage is a civil right" the group of close to 50 marched together from 1pm in solidarity.
Equal Love Canberra campaigner Anna Dennis said Malcolm Turnbull had sold out the interests of the LGBTIQ community.
"The face of the government has changed but their homophobic and discriminatory agenda has remained the same," she said.
"As far as marriage equality is concerned he is just a better dressed version of Abbott. It's time for marriage equality now. We need to continue to demand our rights just as loudly as we have been."
Secretary of Unions ACT Alex White said the union movement had fought hard for significant reforms for same-sex couples.
These included making it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of sexuality in the workplace, ensuring all same-sex couples had access to paid parental leave, carers leave, bereavement leave, widow and widowers pensions and superannuation.
"The inability for same-sex couples to marry is the last remaining vestige of legal discrimination against gay lesbian and transgender couples," he said.
"It's simple. Everyone should have the same rights. If one person is denied certain right, the right to marry who they chose regardless of sex, then it demeans us all."
