ALIA board issues statement of support for same-sex marriage

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) board has issued a statement in support of a yes vote in the same-sex marriage postal plebiscite.

The ALIA board first made a statement regarding the plebiscite on 15 August, declaring their support for ALIA members who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and encouraging members to ‘exercise their right to vote, and to ensure that library users have access to the information they need to help them understand the issues’.

On 22 September, the ALIA board updated the statement to say that ‘the current Commonwealth legislation dealing with marriage is discriminatory, and that a yes response to the postal survey is required to right this discrimination’. ‘At a human level, we regret the divisions that are forming and the impact on the well-being of our members,’ the ALIA board said. ‘We believe the majority of our personal members will support a yes vote and we, as a Board, do so too. We continue to encourage ALIA members to participate in the postal survey; to support our LGBTQIA+ colleagues and clients; and to ensure that library users have access to the information they need to help them understand the issues.’

For more information, see the FAIR website here.

Category: Library news