It’s time… to get out the Kleenex

This ad from Get Up!, an Australian progressive group, urges the Australian government to legalise same sex marriage. Before you watch it, I urge you to grab a few tissues, because it is beautiful and it will probably choke you up.

The video is called “Love Story,” and with good reason: most people, if they didn’t know going into it that it was an ad for marriage equality, would probably assume it was about a straight couple. A straight couple that meets, falls in love, moves in together, builds an extended family, goes through ups and downs, and decides to get married. You know, all the things that “normal” straight couples do. The point is to show that same sex relationships don’t look that different from “traditional” ones – which is why same sex couples want and deserve the same rights as “traditional” ones.

Get Up! is urging the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, to amend the Commonwealth Marriage Act so that it no longer permits marriage discrimination. A recent campaign from Australian Marriage Equality highlighted the fact that 62% of Australians are now in favour of legalizing same-sex marriage.

Gillard has made it clear that she will not change the Commonwealth Marriage Act, writing in The Age two weeks ago, although she will allow her party’s MPs a conscience vote on the issue when the party meets for its national conference this weekend. Despite the polling numbers, Gillard claims that the Australian people are still not ready for marriage equality:

As I have said many times, I support maintaining the Marriage Act in its current form, and the government will not move legislation to change it. My position flows from my strong conviction that the institution of marriage has come to have a particular meaning and standing in our culture and nation and that should continue unchanged. The Labor Party platform currently reflects this view.

Which is why it’s important, if you’re Australian and you are ready for marriage equality, that you sign the petition. The numbers are on our side and the conference is fast approaching. So blow your nose, put down the Kleenex, and sign it!