New TV ad brings global pressure on Malcolm Turnbull for marriage equality
Photos of same-sex weddings around the world show Australia is lagging behind
Crowdfunded TV ad will be streamed in Parliament on Sky News
Canberra - 3 December 2015 - Married same-sex couples from around the world have called for Malcolm Turnbull to stop blocking marriage equality in Australia, in a new crowdfunded TV advert which launched today on Sky News. The couples are all members of All Out, a global group fighting for the rights of lesbian, gay, bi, and trans people, and submitted their wedding photos to push for Australians to be granted the same rights as other gay and lesbian couples around the world.
"All Out members from Canada to Uruguay and South Africa to Belgium have sent their beautiful same-sex wedding photos to Malcolm Turnbull to remind him that Australia is lagging behind on marriage equality." said Leandro Ramos, Interim Executive Director of All Out, a 2 million-member global movement for love and equality. "The photos will be aired in a TV ad on Sky News today, to urge the Prime Minister not to stand in the way of love, and instead allow a free vote on marriage equality in Australia."
Gay and lesbian couples submitted their photos to All Out through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the new TV ad. The advert opens with the message "To Malcolm, with love" and then shows same-sex wedding photos from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay. The wedding photos pile up throughout the TV ad, demonstrating how Australia is lagging behind its global allies by dragging its feet on marriage equality. The TV ad's closing message is "The world is saying 'yes' to marriage equality. It's time you do the same. Now."
450 All Out members chipped in individual donations to pay for the production and airing of the advert. The advert will play 17 times on Sky News - which is screened inside the Australian Parliament buildings - starting from Thursday 3 December, in slots just ahead of news programmes such as AM Sportsline, PM Agenda, News Now and the Friday Show.
Pro-equality Australians had high hopes for marriage equality when Malcolm Turnbull took over from Tony Abbott in September. In the first couple of days after Turnbull became Prime Minister, thousands of All Out members in Australia called for him to allow a free vote on a cross-party marriage equality bill. But he refused and instead laid out plans for a plebiscite on marriage equality after the 2016 election.
Pressure on Turnbull is mounting, after the Senate officially backed a motion in November that rejects a marriage equality plebiscite and urges the Prime Minister to grant his Liberal Party a free vote on the issue. The state parliaments of Tasmania, New South Wales and Western Australia have all supported the same motion.
To see the final TV ad that will be aired on Sky News this week, click here:
To see the crowdfunder for the TV ad, click here:
https://go.allout.org/en/a/australia-equality-advert/
To see an album of the same sex wedding photos submitted by All Out members, click here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1133187576708767.1073741840.169042736456594&type=3
About All Out
In 75 countries, it is a crime to be gay; in 10 it can cost you your life. All Out is mobilising millions of people and their social networks to build a powerful global movement for love and equality. Our mission is to build a world where no person will have to sacrifice their family or freedom, safety or dignity, because of who they are or who they love.
Videos
To Malcolm, with love - Posted Dec 7, 2015
To Malcolm, with love. from All Out on Vimeo.
