E tu, Australia?
You’d think when people react in disgust to international headlines detailing the criminalizing of a country’s LGBT population, countries across the globe would think “Alright, maybe this is wrong.” But alas, this is not the case.
As with Russia, and its banning of “gay propaganda” specifically around minors, and now India with their criminalizing of gay people as a principle, Australia has now jumped on the bandwagon to retreat into a historical time period and overturn the Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT) legislation, which legalized same-sex marriage in the territory.
ACT instituted the historic legislation in October allowing gay couples to marry inside the territory, which includes the Australian capital of Canberra, regardless of which state they live in. And now, the Australian High Court has unanimously overturned the legislation, explaining that it doesn’t coincide with federal laws due 2004 legislation specifying marriage as between a man and a woman.
All of the marriages that got validated under this legislation are now made invalid, and some 27 couples who were married have now lost their marriage licenses. The court believes the issue should be decided by parliament, which strictly voted down gay marriage in 2012.
In a statement they explained their vote, saying “whether same-sex marriage should be provided for by law is a matter for the federal parliament.” The Attorney General, George Brandis, had previously said that the legislation would face legal challenges, due to its inconsistency with the country’s legal definition of marriage.
Eric Abetz, Liberal Party politician, took to Twitter to make a statement about the court’s ruling, “The High Court’s overruling of ACT same sex marriage laws is welcome.” All of this from a Liberal. Yeah, alright.
The Australian Christian Lobby, which clearly opposes same sex marriage said: “Marriage between a man and a woman is good for society and beneficial for governments to uphold in legislation.” Let’s break down this ludicrous statement, shall we?
Marriage, while in your country is defined as between a man and a woman, faces an inevitable definition change. So, for now your definition applies. However, it’s important to note that in several countries worldwide marriage has been used as a word to express the union between same-sex couples. Your inability to grasp changing concepts as time moves forward is insufferable. Furthermore, how exactly is it “good for society?” What percentage of crime is attributed to the LGBT people in your country? Are taxes harsher because of same-sex couples? Have you noticed more political injustice because of same-sex couples? That last question was a trick question.
In April, New Zealand became the first Asia-Pacific regional country to legalize gay marriage. Australia could learn a thing or two from their neighbor.
Ian Proegler
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