En Passant

One way to help gays and lesbians achieve equality would be to abolish the school chaplaincy program and introduce a real program in schools for addressing homophobia, whether religious or not.

That should include trained social and welfare workers. Labor won’t do that.

Another way to send a message that all Australian citizens are equal would be to legislate for gay marriage. Again, Labor won’t do that.

All this ongoing Labor Party rightward shift has done is make Tony Abbott, the man of reaction, and his policies, look reasonable. Every ALP attempt to wedge the Liberals with Labor racism or Labor homophobia or Labor neoliberal economic policy further legitimises Abbott and the Coalition.

The overthrow of women’s oppression, of sexism and homophobia, won’t be won through Labor. Equal Love and the Slutwalks are but two manifestations of the struggle against systemic oppression and socialists should and do support them.

However ultimately victory over these systemic conditions requires a victory over capitalism. That can only be won through working class struggle.

The meeting shows the necessity for SDA members to continue to build up the kind of networks and organisation that will be necessary to affect broader change within the union and hold the “democratically elected leadership” accountable.

Gregory Storer has written on the Online Opinion controversy explaining his role and making the point in a calm and convincing manner that this was always about vilification. His very astute and sensible article is called On Line Opinion and me.

Leela Krishna is a gay Tamil from Sri Lanka. He has been behind barbed wire in Australia’s concentration camps (euphemistically called detention centres) since fleeing Sri Lanka and making his way by boat to Australia one year ago. In April this year Immigration found him to be a refugee. Yet Leela, who is suicidal because of his [...]

The blood of men and women who suicide over their sexuality will be on Gillard’s hands and those of her Labor Party sycophants who refuse to legalise gay marriage.

Australia has its first female prime minister – and she is an unmarried atheist. Unfortunately, this makes absolutely no difference to the government’s position on same-sex marriage: “Marriage is between a man and a woman”, Gillard announced on Sydney radio shortly after her ascension to power. When Labor took over the government three years ago, [...]

Leela Krishnan Thinagaran Harindran is a queer Tamil refugee from Sri Lanka. He left Sri Lanka because he faced such high levels of hostility to his sexuality. In Sri Lanka, Leela had been arrested and beaten by police in a series of incidents that seem to have been set-ups or harassment concerning registration papers for [...]

The fight for equal love is a fight against Labor; it is a fight to force Labor to introduce real equality. We will not go away. We will not rest till we win.