http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26335319-29277,00.html http//www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/11/2739661.htm Yes compared to the US we are pretty much back in the stone age when it comes to gay marriage. However a step in the right direction is never a bad thing. However are they actually given the same rights as a married couple? Many places in the world where civil unions are in practice time after time in court it has been ruled that they do not entitle people the same rights as a married couple. I believe it is the same in Australia with civil unions not given the same rights as marriage. Will check up on it as i haven't actually read a lot into it but worst case scenario it is a step in the right direction. Still a long way from where i would like to see it end up. In the end i believe civil unions should be available to anybody no matter what their sexuality. As a way to essentially commit to each other to have the legal rights etc. but if they are not religious then why should marriage be there only option? Although i would also like it to end up with gay people being able to be married if they are religious/want to be married in the eyes of god. I know i am a bit of a dreamer but one day..
I wouldn't say we're back in the stone age. Sure, gay marriage isn't allowed, but I know of many straight couples that refuse to get married because they feel marriages are more like business arrangements these days, and I know of one lesbian who refuses to get married even if they do legalise it. Are we really going to measure how tolerable a society is based on whether they give a piece of paper to two people of the same sex who love each other? And are gays really missing out on anything? Same-sex relationships are recognized under various family law acts that have been passed in recent years in either state or federal parliaments. Frankly, I don't think they are missing out on much at all...
Yes laws have been passed recently but there is still no way for a gay couple to get all the same legal rights as a married straight couple. My statement referring to being in the stone age was directed at gay marriage. Which you can't really disagree with. I made sure to make it rather precise as we are essentially at par when it comes to other things relating to gay rights. Also simply because some people either gay or straight don't wish to get married (there has always been people not wanting to ever marry) does that mean that we should not try to end the discrimination?
15 min limit on editing :s Just wanted to add this to further specify the laws i was talking about that changed. While the changes to the laws in Victoria (not sure of other states) now recognize same-sex couples as de facto is 1 step de facto couples are given most but not all the rights that come with marriage.
hmmmm, not sure I agree with you there. What exactly are married couples entitled to that de facto couples aren't, be they gay or straight? Frankly speaking, I would rather see an end to the discrimination in the process of adoption/fostering for gays before I see the marriage laws changed.
Are there anti-hate crime laws in Australia as well like in Canada? If there aren't, they should get those in place first. Then comes marriage, then, a baby in a baby carriage! ..all joking aside, that's good news. Marriage is good: it can verify a relationship, give partner benefits (ie: legal power in a will, ability to visit partner in the hospital etc etc.) That's why we need marriage everywhere.
But they already have those over here; have for several years, in fact... except for Tasmania.... Homosexuality was decriminalised in all federal aspects in the 1970's when former PM Gorton proposed it in federal parliament; the States followed suit (Tasmania being the last). Since the mid-90's (earlier, even), any person can be designated power-of-attorney, regardless of gender, race, orientation, criminal history; about the only bar still in place is mental capacity, for obvious reasons.
As far as i have been able to find (only just started looking again) sexuality is not covered by Australia's hate crime laws. Not sure how accurate this is (wiki isn't the most reliable source). But now i have this subject back in my head i shall keep digging.
Regardless of if couples wish to get married is a choice, but all couples regardless should have rights to get married. I am not sure if I totally agree just with Civil Union (if that's what's called), I think they should just legalize same-sex marriages...I guess civil union gives the couple rights to adopt etc...but they will not be treated like heterosexual married couple...isn't that still discriminating? I think when they say oh we do recognize you as couple, it tends to calm people down but it doesn't change the fact that they are looked as second 'class' to heterosexual couples... Last time I looked it up only five European countries and Canada have legalizied same sex marriage...and some places in US
^ and South Africa i believe yeh although Adoption is a much more important issue, Marriage Equality will come eventually. unfortunately i think we have a more conservative government when it comes to this issue. for K-Rudd, his priorities are to try and keep the Liberal Party supporters that he worked hard to get, as opposed to pleasing his LGBT supporters who who knows will vote for him anyway.
