Hundreds of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered
people took to the streets of Sydney, Australia, on March 5 for the
city’s 34th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. The parade is
one of the biggest LGBT events in the world, drawing over 300,000
spectators this year.
Despite the Australian government passing a law in 2004 defining
marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution, the national
government recently considered allowing the capital city of Canberra
to set up local legislation that would allow same-sex marriages. This
revived the struggle for marriage equality, prompting parade
participants to protest Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition
leader Tony Abbott because they are both members of parties that
oppose gay marriage.
Another focus of the parade was workplace equality. LGBT workers
from many industries marched, some wearing their work uniforms.
LGBT people, as contributing members of the global society,
deserve equal rights and solidarity in their struggle against
oppression.
