Senate gets transgender, gay rights champion
| Senate gets transgender, gay rights champion |
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The newly-elected WA Senator, whose partner is a transgender male, made her inaugural speech yesterday, saying, "I look forward to a time when we have removed at a federal level all discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and sexuality. "A time when my partner isn’t denied a passport because his gender’s not recognised under our laws, when my friends’ children all enjoy the same rights and protections under Commonwealth law, regardless of whether their parents are straight or gay, and a time when my gay and lesbian friends who wish to be legally married can be." READ SX'S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LOUSIE PRATT CLICK HERE Martine Delaney of the Australian Coalition for Equality said reform was urgently needed in areas like passport recognition. "The issue of transgender identity documentation has been on the agenda of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General for some years, with no commitment shown to its resolution," she said.
"We congratulate Louise Pratt for sending a strong message to the Government that members of the Labor Party care strongly about equality for transgender people," said Delaney. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is currently conducting an inquiry into discrimination faced by transgender Australians. Australian Marriage Equality spokesperson, Sharon Dane, praised Senator Pratt's commitment to same-sex marriage, saying "equal marriage can no longer be swept under the political carpet." "Senator Pratt's endorsement of equality sends a strong message to the Labor Government that support for reform exists in its own ranks as well as the wider community," Dane said.
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Transgender and marriage rights advocates have welcomed Senator Louise Pratt's commitment to LGBT rights.
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