Politics

People Are Organising Their Own Marriage Equality Calling Parties And It Looks Fun

What could be better than sitting in the park with a bunch of mates, smashing a tinny and actively combatting your sense of powerlessness and despair through positive action?

by Patrick Lenton  17 September 2017

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Ballots for Australia’s national postal survey on same-sex marriage have started appearing in people’s letter boxes around the country, further reinforcing the theory that physical post is always full of bad news and bills and we should all just move entirely to email.

As the campaigns for each respective side of the same-sex marriage debate ramps up, with huge equal marriage rallies on one side and homophobic propaganda posters on the other giving a sample of the flavour of the discourse, many people have been trying to take a more active role in swaying the outcome of this deeply divisive and unfair survey.

You used to call me on your cellphone (about equal rights for all Australians)

In a bid to reach the potential voters who might have the critical pull in the postal survey, phone banks and calling parties have been organised all around Australia. Many of the largest of these have been organised by advocacy groups in the Yes Campaign, but an increasing number are grassroots efforts by groups of cool chums – and they actually look kinda fun.

Local businesses such as Young Henry’s brewery have even gotten on board by donating beers to groups who register, which is particularly cool. What could be better than sitting in the park with a bunch of mates, smashing a tinny and actively combatting your sense of powerlessness and despair through positive action?

E.T phone homophobe

The reason these phone-calling efforts are such a crucial part of the campaign is to make sure that the people who probably want to vote Yes are equipped with all the information and support they need. People who sign up to calling parties and phone banks aren’t usually cold-calling people on the ‘No’ side, but rather people who are suspected to be sympathetic to equal marriage. It’s about getting all the solid ‘Yes’ voters to work together to convert supporters into solid ‘Yes’ votes. As much as the survey might feel like an inescapable toxic ash-cloud hovering over us all, the campaign has identified that there are crucial demographics of people who still lack the crucial information necessary to be relied upon for a solid Yes vote. It’s up to us to reach them.

we're doing a phone bank! #voteyes #marriageequality @getup_australia

A post shared by stepharmon (@stepharmon) on

The Yes Campaign have made this all extremely easy to do as well, which is probably why more people are getting involved over the next month. Not only is it easy to host your own event, you can also sign up to already organised ones. The campaign sends you all the information and training you need in order to make effective calls too. Plus, if you’re queer, there’s a really good chance you’ll meet some other cute queers and then fall in love and then one day get married thanks to all the hard work you’re doing, fighting for equal marriage rights. Such a meet-cute.

But, while organising and volunteering for a phone bank is clearly a no-brainer for LGBTIQ+ people who want to fight against the frankly demoralising sensation of having their country vote on whether they deserve the same rights as everyone else, this is clearly an opportunity for our straight allies to stand up and do some heavy lifting. As it says on the Yes Campaign website:

‘One-on-one conversations between ordinary Australians is the Yes campaign’s secret weapon. That’s why thousands of people across the country – people who wouldn’t consider themselves activists or have never volunteered before – are picking up the phone to have conversations with Yes voters.’

This campaign is tiring and awful for queer folk – but it’s so inspiring and beautiful to see our friends fighting for our rights.

For more information on how to host your own cute calling party with all your awesome friends, or to sign up for any of the public events near you, simply head to yes.org.au. It’s well worth your time and it may make all the difference. If the world of politics has taught us anything recently, it’s that we can’t be complacent, no matter how many rainbows we see in people’s windows or online polls come out in our favour.

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Patrick Lenton is a writer and author. He Tweets @patricklenton.