Thousands march in Australia for equal marriage

Thousands of people took to the streets of Sydney and other Australian cities over the weekend to call for marriage equality, reported local channel SBS.

Part of Sydney’s main streets were closed off for a 4,000-strong march attended by equal marriage campaigners of all ages – which coincided with similar events in Perth, Brisbane and Hobart.

PHOTOS: Thousands turned out for today's gay marriage rally in Sydney. See all our pics here: http://t.co/TVMaDCgHYB pic.twitter.com/L7xNVsEBfM

— Gay News Network AUS (@gaynewsnetAU) August 9, 2015

Gay marriage rallies for Sydney, Perth http://t.co/QNHXSlu3Wa pic.twitter.com/QxC22jx6ZH

— SBS News (@SBSNews) August 9, 2015

@France24_en thousands march Sunday in support of gay marriage in Sydney, Australia pic.twitter.com/bhlIjpQvwy

— Alexandra Parry (@alexparrynews) August 9, 2015

SBS Australia reported that Esther and Mark Holloway, both 32, had brought their 11-month-old daughter Maya along to the protest march in Sydney. “We want to raise our child in a future where she has options,” said the parents, who added that they disagreed with the argument that same-sex marriage affects children’s development.

“For same-sex parents to have children it takes so much more effort so I think they are pretty committed,” Mr Holloway said.

The call for marriage equality Down Under has been steadily growing louder ahead of the introduction of a cross-party marriage equality bill when federal parliament resumes this week. Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has expressed opposition to such a move – as a result, he’s being bombarded with invitations to same-sex weddings.

Local celebrities and athletes have also added their voices to the cause, appearing in adverts for Australian Marriage Equality’s #WeCanDoThis campaign.