The gay and lesbian kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands stood up to Australia to claim LGTBI + rights
El Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands was a micronation established as a token political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in Australia. It was declared in 2004 in response to the refusal of Australian Government to recognize same-sex marriages.
The territory of the Coral Sea Islands is external to Australia and is located northeast of Queensland It covers 780.000 km2 and extends east and south from the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef and twenty other reefs. The Cato Island It is its highest point and a camp on the island called Heaven was the claimed capital of the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands.
Matthew briggs I lead the initiative of the foundation of this gay and lesbian kingdom. Briggs was a well-known activist of the Brisbane Pride Festival and based on the law of «Unfair enrichment"(" If something is taken unfairly, it must be compensated ") and with reference to international law, which establishes that"oppressed peoples of overseas territories have the right to autonomy and self-determination«Together with a group of activists demanded a«territorial compensation»By establishing an independent gay state, claiming the Coral Sea Islands as its territory.
gayflower
El June 14th, 2004, after sailing on a ship called gayflower (a reference to the Mayflower), activists raised the gay pride flag at the Cato Island and declared at Coral Sea Islands as an independent gay and lesbian state. A commemorative plaque in the extreme northeast of the island commemorates this historic event: «On June 14, 2004, at this highest point in the Coral Sea, the emperor Dale parker anderson raised the gay rainbow flag and claimed the coral sea islands in his name as the homeland of the world's gay and lesbian peoples. God save our King!«.
Coinciding with the decision to secede from Australian sovereignty, the founders of the kingdom drew up the declaration of independence: «Swe hold that these truths are self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness«.
The kingdom had its own seal
The kingdom issued its first stamps in July 2006 «with the aim of creating a high and distinctive reputation among the philatelic fraternity«. The kingdom's website stated that tourism, fishing, and philatelic sales were its only economic activities. However, swimming, reef walking, lagoon diving, bird watching, collecting seashells, and exploring shipwrecks were non-economic activities approved by homosexuals.
The national anthem was'I am what I am«
The activists founded a camp in the Cato Island which they called «Heaven»Honoring London's famous gay nightclub as the claimed capital, and«I am what I am»Was established as the national anthem of the Kingdom. Jerry Herman, author of the song, gave up its use with great pleasure and pride. In return he obtained a noble title of this kingdom.
The leader of the protesters, Dale parker anderson, was elected administrator of the territory and declared emperor of the kingdom after its independence. The Australian government ignored them, they believed they were founding something "utopian" and no one recognized them as a country. A conservative legislator demanded that the rainbow flag be removed because it was the flag "of a belligerent state." And so they declared war on them.
Following the Australian government's decision to legalize same-sex marriage, the kingdom was dissolved on November 17th 2017.
I think it's time for this territory to be reborn to protect this community