Gay Marriage still is not on the cards here in Australia with our Prime Minister and people in his Parliament stating yet again that it’s not going to happen, but Kevin Rudd is still maintaining his promise to equalise legislation for those in same sex relationships.
Our Senate passed amendments to family, taxation and health laws so that homosexual couples have the same access to services as married, de-facto and common law couples. It’s a great step, but I’d love to see gay marriage legalised. I don’t want the religious connotations but the total commitment and legal aspects that marriage offers.
Read the full related article here.
7 Comments
Ben
Pretty pathetic that the only mention of it here in Australia is a transcript from an interview on a radio-station website. If the New York Times can comment on Australian law, you’d think News Corp could too.
Rob, London (UK)
We have civil partnerships here, which amounts to the same thing as marriage (in my opinion). Elton John and David Furnish had their ceremony here in London a while back and thousands of other couples have too. I even went to a gay marriage in a church in south London, back in 2001, way before it was ‘legal’.
Back in January, a registrar in the next borough to me, Islington, refused to ‘marry’ gay couples and went on to win her case on the grounds of her religion, though the council (her employer) fought it strongly. http://www.thecnj.co.uk/islington/2008/011108/news011108_5a.html
There will always be odd people who discriminate against gays, but as long as there is opposition to them they won’t beat us.
Keep up the great blog.
Jeremy
I couldn’t agree more! But I also want to know… where is that pic from?!?!????? :)))
A Lewis
A struggle, ongoing though. Funny how people actually have to fight for civil/human rights. Odd.
Wayne
Hope you guys get it soon, we have had gay marriage in Canada for quite a while now, and most people I think have come to realize that the world didn’t come to an end lol
Jean
Congratulations on this step, Australia!
Very relevant photo. Who’s beautiful butts are we looking at?
Cavalier
Has anyone noticed the irony here. While this is a huge step in the right direction take note
You now have to register as a “De Facto” couple and you will get less money in bebifits from the Commonwealth( as a married couple in fact). Although this has been viemantly denied with no other explaination. So you may get all the benifits of this rip off But you may not get married. So we still do not have the same standards Isn’t this discrimination Oh Yeah thats right we dont have those rights Hmmmmm. This is the churches work all they want is good lil christian breeders to keep up the supply of vitrioloc homophobes.