Lesbian couple Meagan Bousfield and Freedom Bradbury have been engaged for 12 months in the hope that they can one day get married.
Camera IconLesbian couple Meagan Bousfield and Freedom Bradbury have been engaged for 12 months in the hope that they can one day get married. Credit: Supplied/Marcus Whisson

Freedom fights for marriage equality

Lauren Pilat, Eastern ReporterEastern Reporter

Ms Baker last week called for Members of Parliament to support a cross-party working group to investigate the potential of creating marriage equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.

She said the New South Wales government established that the Australian Constitution didn’t prohibit them from legislating marriage equality and urged the WA Parliament to confirm its own power to act.

‘Marriage equality is not something that we can wait for the Commonwealth Government or the High Court to determine in our state,’ she said.

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‘The majority of West Australians support marriage equality, yet our Government has yet to stand up and act on this support.

‘In Western Australia it is now time to bring LGBTI people up to the full value that we afford other couples.’

Ms Bradbury said there was a ‘big double standard’ when it came to discrimination against sexuality.

‘Marriage discrimination is a government sanctioned mass discrimination,’ she said.

‘If you go to a work place and an employer says you can’t have a job because you’re gay, they get done for discrimination.’

Ms Bradbury and her partner Meagan Bousfield have been engaged for 12 months with the hope marriage laws would change.

‘There’s a serious gap in equality and Australia is lagging with Tony Abbot’s recent comments implying marriage equality is some kind of trend of the moment,’ she said.

‘It’s really shameful that he would believe that and for someone in a position of such great leadership to say that makes me believe he’s out of touch with society.

‘Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere and the same goes for equality ” if there’s inequality for anyone in society then everyone should be concerned about it.’