Gay kingdom of the coral sea

In countries where we have lived for centuries, we are still cried down as strangers In the world as it is now and for an indefinite period I think we shall not be left in peace". The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands also known as the Gay Kingdom of the Coral Sea was a putative micronation established as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in Australia.

Declared in June in response to the introduction of a government bill to the Australian Parliament in May and passed in September that year that codified the heterosexual definition of marriage[ 1 ] the Kingdom was founded on Australia's external overseas territory of the Coral Sea Islandsa group of uninhabited islets east of the Great Barrier Reef.

That year was a tough one for queer people in Australia. The Coral Sea Islands Territory is an external territory of Australia which comprises a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Seanortheast of QueenslandAustralia.

In vain we are loyal patriots, our loyalty in some places running to extremes; in vain do we make the same sacrifices of life and property as our fellow citizens; in vain do we strive to increase the fame of our native land in science and art, or her wealth by trade and commerce.

The kingdom's website stated that tourism, fishing and philatelic sales were its only economic activities. The activists founded a camp site on Cato Island which they named "Heaven" after the famous gay nightclub in London as its claimed capital, and " I Am What I Am " was set as the Kingdom's national anthem.

Gay Island Australia 39 : The territory covers , square kilometres, most of which is ocean, and includes Heralds Beacon Island, Osprey Reef, the Willis

Micronations - tiny countries declared by ordinary people - repeat and reproduce the act of establishment maintained by sovereign james carville gay. The Coral Sea Islands were first charted in In the s and s the islands were mined for guano but the absence of a reliable supply of fresh water prevented long-term habitation.

Inover kilometres off the coast of Queensland, a new, all-gay nation was created: the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands. We are not permitted to do so. On 14 Juneafter sailing on a ship named the Gayflower a reference to the Mayflowerthe activists raised the gay rainbow pride flag on Cato Islandand declared the Coral Sea Islands an independent gay and lesbian state.

In a scheme similar to Israel's Law of Returna person was automatically granted permanent resident status and immediately eligible for citizenship in the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands simply by being gay or lesbian.

God Save our King! However, swimming, reef walking, lagoon snorkelling, bird-watching, seashell-collecting, and shipwreck-exploring were all gay government-sanctioned non-economic activities. The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, whilst a creative approach to tackling discrimination, also demonstrates a radical story of micronationalism.

The islands, cays and reefs of the Great Barrier Reef are not part of the territory, belonging to Queensland instead. The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands (also known as the Gay Kingdom of the Coral Sea) was a putative micronation established as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in Australia.

Other than the protester inhabitants, the islands of the Coral Sea Islands Territory were uninhabited and the kingdom's independence was not recognised by Australia or any world government. The kingdom issued its first stamps in July "with the aim of creating a high and distinctive reputation amongst the philatelic fraternity".

The two latter reefs are much closer to Lord Howe IslandNew South Walesabout km 93 mi than to the southernmost island of the rest of the territory, Cato Island. Cato Island is the highest point in the Territory and a camp site on the island called Heaven was the claimed capital of the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands.

Based on the law of "Unjust Enrichment" "If something is unjustly taken compensation must be made" and with reference to international law, which states "Oppressed people of overseas territories have a right to self government and self determination", the activists claimed "territorial compensation" by establishing an independent gay state, claiming The Coral Sea Islands as its territory.

Coinciding with the decision to secede from Australian sovereignty, the kingdom's founders drafted a declaration of independence. Stated to have been inspired by the United States Declaration of Independencethe kingdom's Declaration also stated: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

The initiative for the founding of a gay kingdom was taken during the Brisbane Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival in Gay activists believed that change in the marriage law, in particular the government's plan to amend the marriage act so as to prevent homosexual couples who were married overseas to have their relationship recognised, had taken from homosexual people the right to be treated equally, "whether it be marriage, superannuation, hospital visits, adoption or IVF treatments".

In Maythe Howard government introduced an amendment bill to “protect the institution of marriage” by defining marriage “the union of a man and woman to the exclusion of all others”. In MayDale Anderson was invited to but did not attend a conference in Sydney for the leaders of all the micronations in the world, in order to determine ways to obtain recognition as sovereign countries.

The leader of the protesters, Dale Parker Anderson, was elected Administrator of the territory and then "declared emperor " of the kingdom upon its independence.