Julian Shaw, the star of the Australian
'It's Time' video, says the time has come for Australia to embrace
marriage equality.
The 2-minute ad, which
has racked up more than 3 million views on YouTube, was produced
by the progressive group GetUp as part of its campaign calling on the
Australian Labor Party (ALP), the nation's dominant party, to support
gay marriage in its platform. Over the weekend, the
ALP did vote in favor of the change, but it also adopted Prime
Minister Julia Gillard's motion to allow lawmakers to make a
“conscience vote” on bills related to gay marriage.
Shaw stars in the video as Paul, who is
seen in the ad's first frames meeting someone aboard a boat.
Birthdays, rollercoaster rides, quarrels and losses 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. (View
the video here.)
In an interview with Australia's ten,
Shaw said he was “blown away by the response” to the video.
“You know it's a love story that's
connected with people all around the world,” he said.
“The time has come for this to happen
on a national level, on a legislative level.”
“A majority of Australians
overwhelmingly want this. I want this. I've got so many gay
friends. I want to be going, you know, to their weddings and be a
part of that,” he added. (The video is embedded in the right panel
of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
An
effort to broadcast the video on national television in the United
States is gaining momentum on Facebook.