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Lessons from America

By Rodney Croome - posted Friday, 16 November 2012


The US election was a victory for marriage equality.

The first US president to publicly endorse marriage quality was returned. For the first time in US history a vote of the people delivered a pro-marriage equality result, in not just one but four different states.

Compare this to Australia where a left-of-centre Prime Minister continues to oppose marriage equality and only a third of federal MPs are willing to vote for it.

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This is despite the fact that polls show support for marriage equality to be consistently 10% higher in Australia than in America. Why is the US moving ahead of Australia so quickly? What lessons does Tuesday's vote have for our country?

For Julia Gillard the message is pretty simple. Supporting marriage equality was an electoral plus for Obama. Traditionally socially conservative constituencies like blacks, Hispanics and white industrial workers flocked to Obama regardless of his stand. White women, young people, and of course the five per cent of the US electorate that is gay, donated, canvassed and voted for him, in no small part, because of it.

One reason Obama's support for marriage equality had widespread appeal was because he expressed it in terms that included same-sex partners in family and community life. By contrast, Gillard's most recent statement on the issue excludes same-sex couples even further from the mainstream:

We should find other ways of recognising the value of other relationships.

If Gillard wants to replicate Obama's success she must follow his lead by personally and inclusively endorsing marriage equality.

The lesson for Tony Abbott is also obvious. Mitt Romney was locked into a hard-line anti-marriage equality stance by Republican Party ideologues which made it much more difficult for him to appeal to female, young and independent voters. For many of these voters there was an uncomfortable gap between Romney's rhetoric about individual freedom and his support for the government telling people who they can wed.

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Meanwhile, the Bush (and Howard) strategy of using marriage equality to mobilise evangelicals and wedge the centre left simply failed to deliver.

If Tony Abbott wants to improve his chances at next year's national election he must move now to soften the Coalition's wholesale opposition to marriage equality, and show he is sincere about Liberal principles, by allowing a conscience vote on the issue.

For advocates for marriage equality the message out of the US election is about how we do our job. Marriage equality carried the day in four states because advocates focussed on couples and families, not rights or entitlements. For most people marriage is less about 'equality' than it is about commitment, sacrifice and re-inforcing inter-generational ties.

Australia saw first-hand that same-sex couples share these values when recent Big Brother winner, Ben Norris, proposed to his fiancé on national TV with these words:

This was a diamond that my great grandfather bought for my great grandmother and it was worn by my parents on their wedding day so it's something that is a part of my family. Since I've met Ben all I have wanted is for him to be a part of my family.

Earlier this year Australian Marriage Equality shifted its advocacy focus to the link between marriage and family. There was a similar focus in the narrowly defeated campaign for same-sex marriage in Tasmania.

The task ahead is to re-orient the Australian marriage equality conversation so we are talking about why marriage matters at least as much as why equality matters.

What the U.S. election result doesn't mean for the Australian marriage equality movement is that we should aim for an Australian referendum. In the words of leading American marriage equality advocate, Evan Wolfson:

Rights should not be put to a vote. While we have now shown we can do it, it doesn't mean that we should have to do it, and it doesn't mean that it is easy to do.

Since 2009 the number of federal representatives who are prepared to vote for marriage equality has increased ten-fold from six to 68, and will increase far more when the Coalition allows a conscience vote.

The ACT, South Australia, NSW and Tasmania will move forward with relevant legislation in the near future, and as soon as one jurisdiction achieves equality the push will accelerate elsewhere. Legislative reform remains Australia's best path to marriage equality.

Finally, what does the U.S. election mean for those Australians who are conflicted about marriage equality or who oppose it?

The U.S. election shows that the historical trend is clearly towards marriage equality. Given this, there seems to be no point prolonging the inevitable outcome, and dividing the nation in the process. Opposition to marriage equality is a losing cause that simply diverts attention from other pressing issues.

Now is a time for those not on the side of equality to reflect on whether they really want to drag this debate out until marriage equality is eventually achieved or whether they will sensibly and graciously allow the issue to be resolved as soon as possible.

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About the Author

Rodney Croome is a spokesperson for Equality Tasmania and national advocacy group, just.equal. He who was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2003 for his LGBTI advocacy.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Rodney Croome

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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