Same-sex couples dress for dinner with PM

Advocates for marriage equality are preparing for their dinner with Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the Lodge on Tuesday night where they will be able to discuss in person the case for same-sex marriage.

The dinner was won at auction last year by Australian Marriage Equality and GetUp and will be attended by AME national convener Alex Greenwich in addition to three same-sex couples.

Greenwich said, “We will share with the Prime Minister why celebrating the meaning of marriage is so important to all Australians, including gay Australians.

“We also hope to use the dinner to alleviate any concerns that the Prime Minister may have around the issues of religious freedoms and protections.”

From New South Wales Sandy Miller, along with her fiancée Louise Bucke, has been selected as an attendee of the dinner.

Miller previously told GayNewsNetwork the pair just wants the same rights and choices as everyone else.

“Our youngest often asks us “Mummies are you going to be engaged forever? Why don’t you get married?” she said.

“It has been hard trying to explain that our government won’t let us get married and he doesn’t understand why everyone else can get married and become a family legally and we can’t.”

The remaining couples selected for the dinner include John and Steve from Victoria, and Sharon and Elaine from Queensland.

The dinner with Gillard to demonstrate the importance of marriage equality may not prove as fruitful as hoped with large sections of the media tipping former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to make a play for the top job in coming weeks.