Copy of a letter sent to the Yes campaign contact address

[highlyeccentric]

Dear AME and Australians For Equality,

as a long-term supporter of the marriage equality movement, I write to you to express my disappointment with stances taken by the Yes campaign at the moment. In response to the early No campaign ad, which suggested that consequences of marriage equality include gender-affirming education policies, you released an add claiming that 'the only young people affected by this change will be young gay people'.
Firstly, this is factually incorrect: as a young bi person, I am also affected by marriage equality or lack thereof. So are many young trans people - the ability to marry without being required to explain a discrepancy between gender presentation and gender of birth certificate will change the landscape for trans people and their families.
Secondly, although the No campaign is factually incorrect that inclusive school policies are a consequence of marriage equality law specifically, it *is* true that if marriage equality is legalised, schools will be required to teach this fact about the law and its history (just as my conservative Christian school was required to teach changes in divorce law as part of School Certificate history). The advocates of the No campaign are mis-informed by many things, but they are not stupid: to deny any knock-on effects in the fabric of Australian society simply encourages them to claim that we are lying. Similarly, while gender-affirming education policies like Safe Schools are not legally or in policy linked to equal marriage, at any marriage equality rally you can see people carrying 'save safe schools' banners. This link is then used to reinforce false claims about the consequences of marriage equality. To young queer and gender non-conforming kids, who are at the brunt of this latter debate, for the Yes campaign to insist marriage equality has nothing to do with them is very disappointing.
The equality movement I would like to see is one which is factually clear (about the lack of LEGAL connection between gender affirming education policy) but which says 'these are our most vulnerable youth and marriage equality is part of their future too'.
It seems that AME and Australians for Equality are unwilling to be that voice. Unless that changes over the course of the campaign, I will be donating my money to queer support organisations rather than the Yes campaign, and devoting my political efforts to urging politicians to ensure that any changes to the Marriage Act make no specifications regarding gender at all.

Regards,

Amy Brown

I sent some $ to the yes campaign at the start of the month, but not as much as I could have - it seems like sinking money into a bog. It's unlikely that we'll win, and regardless of whether we do or not, between them the yes and no campaigns are fortifying a national discourse wherein the sexuality is legitimised by legal wedlock, and marital bonds elevated above other social bonds. And I just... maybe I'm too much of a coward to face calling my relatives, but I'd rather support the likes of Twenty10 and the GLCS - the networks that are going to be doing the hard caring work for the most vulnerable queers regardless of marriage outcomes.

I have been sending little personalised postcards to first my MP and then working my way through a list of NSW senators urging them to either oppose a 'one man one woman OR two men OR two women' bill (in the case of opposition/green senators) or to advocate for a more inclusively worded bill (liberal/national senators).

And I subscribed to Overland today, because they're the only publication whose marriage articles haven't been making me feel queasy. (Well, Archer have been okay but not as punchy as Overland, and I'm already subscribed to them.)

TL;DR it's hard being a non-marrying queer in the time of plebiscite-surveys.

Comments

[kaberett]

This is good, and I am sorry it is necessary, and I thank you nonetheless for doing it.

[highlyeccentric]

*sighs heavily*