Gay Marriage rally in Brisbane - Written by Merryn McDonnell (myself)

Equal Love to Protest in Brisbane Streets.

A rally for equal marriage rights will be held at Brisbane’s Queens Park on Saturday, 12^th May 2012. The rally will be held by the Equal Love organization for their National day of action. Equal Love will be campaigning in all major Australian cities. Brisbane Organiser, Ms Jess Payne, says the event is for the broader community, “it’s an event for all who support equal rights.”

Public figures including ABC’s Andrew Denton and the cast of the Hungry Beast have pledged their support of the Equal Love campaign. Ms Payne says the majority of young people are also supporters of marriage equality, but the challenge for the campaign is “turning all passive support into active opposition.”

The Equal Love group created the National Day of Action “to publicly pressure the government,” Ms Payne says. The group is urging the government to remove the ban on gay marriage by amending the Marriage Act.

The Equal Love group is still confident that the campaign will be effective despite the protests of anti-gay marriage Christian groups lead by Mr Peter Madden. Mr Madden, a Democratic Party candidate, led a protest truck throughout parts of New South Wales and Queensland in March. “The protest truck was decorated with anti-ALP and anti-homosexual advertising,” says Ms Katherine Feeney of the BrisbaneTimes.com.

The Saturday, 12 May Equal Love event will not only include a march around the CBD with chanting, but “a range of speakers including religious figures and activists,” Ms Payne says.