A gay marriage video from Australia
titled It's Time has racked up more than 3 million views on
YouTube.
In the ad, which plays more like a
short film, Paul is seen meeting someone on a boat. Birthdays,
rollercoaster rides and days at the beach follow. In the film's
final frames, Paul's companion is finally revealed as an overjoyed
Paul gets down on one knee and proposes marriage to his boyfriend.
(The video is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
The nearly 2-minute ad was produced by
the progressive group GetUp. The group's Paul Mackay told gay glossy
The
Advocate that the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“To say we've been overwhelmed by the
positive response we've had is an understatement,” Mackay said.
“We never expected celebrities would tweet about it or massive
international sources like yours would be interested in covering it.”
Mackay added that gay marriage foes
derided the ad for “duping” them.
“Funnily enough, much of the negative
feedback we've received has centered around people's dismay that they
were 'duped' by the video. Many people have written in saying, 'How
dare you not flag the true nature of the video!' or 'You showed me a
beautiful love story then ruined it by revealing a terrible gay
relationship!'”
GetUp
is lobbying the Australian Labor Party (ALP), the nation's dominant
party, to support gay marriage in its platform with an online
petition campaign. The party is scheduled to vote on the issue
during its 46th National Conference, which opens Friday in
Sydney. GetUp will deliver the petition to lawmakers at their
convention.