A MOCK same-sex wedding was performed in front of Bendigo MP Steve Gibbons’ office yesterday as young people vented their fury at his stance on gay marriage.More than 30 people attended the protest in response to Mr Gibbons saying he had received thousands of emails about legalising same-sex marriage, but all he could do was delete them.Mr Gibbons addressed the crowd and said his position remained the same.
Click here to watch Steve Gibbons address the protesters. He said legalising same-sex marriage was not a priority and he received huge volumes of emails on a range of issues.“Just because I’m an MP I can’t tell people how to live their lives,” he said.He said he had been heavily lobbied by groups like GetUp but he would not have his agenda set by lobbyists.“I have a job to do and that isn’t just to represent yourselves. I still state it’s not a priority and it doesn’t need to be. I have friends and my wife who is dedicated to see legislation changed,” Mr Gibbons said. Click here to watch the mock wedding. Speaking at the protest Jadyn Hosking said it was Mr Gibbons’ duty to listen to all members of the community.“One day I would like to settle down and marry. You can only refer to your ‘partner’ for several years before it gets awkward,” he said. “My older sister married a boy and one day I would like to as well.”Mr Hosking said legalising same-sex marriage would cost the community nothing and society would have itself a greater sense of social justice. Emma Gartside took part in the mock wedding and said she was hurt that the government wasn’t on board.“One day I want to get married, have a nice house with 2.5 kids, I want the Australian dream,” she said.“There is a really strong voice that just isn’t being heard.”The protest was organised by B-EPIC, a youth group that aims to raise awareness about sexual and gender diversity.
