Same-sex marriage is now legal in Australia. Image Courtesy – https://www.yahoo.com
Same-sex marriage (gay-marriage) is now allowed in Australia on 7th December 2017, Thursday, after a harsh and isolating debate resolved by the government polling voters. In spite of five lawmakers’ opposition, the legislation was passed with a majority. ‘The House of the Representatives’ exploded with applause when the bill passed. The bill changed the definition of marriage from ‘a man and woman’ to ‘a conjunction of two people’, eliminating all the other causes.
The Australian Senate passed the same legislation a week before, 43 to 12 votes. The law will take effect within a month after royal acceptance and other regulations.
Lawmakers possessed a view that the national postal survey in Australia in the month of November mandated a change to the definition of marriage. So, the law should not be delayed on the issue of marriage quality. The amendments of the existing law will safeguard ‘freedoms of speech and religion’, propelling same-sex marriage, and all the objections of the opponents will be rejected.
The existing law allows the Australian churches and religious organizations to avoid gay marriage without violating the anti-discrimination laws of the country. Existing common celebrants can likewise decline to perform same-sex marriage; however, celebrants enlisted after the same-sex marriage becomes law would not be excused from the anti-discrimination laws.
Read: A new campaign for Gay Marriage to start in US
Same-sex marriage has been supported by 62% of the Australian voters who replied to the government-commissioned ‘postal ballot’. The lawyers of Australia thought that the government should have allowed same-sex marriage a few years ago, but the concept of a public survey was a strategy for delaying the issue. The Human Rights Committee of the United Nations addressed the ballot survey in Australia as an unnecessary and isolating public opinion poll.
Rodney Croome, a veteran gay rights campaigner, said that he expected the first same-sex marriage in Australia would not take place before February 2018. He also said that the law will take time to take effect within one month, then couples need to give notice of their intention to marry at least 28 days before marriage according to the state laws.
The first law advocating it was sanctioned in the year 2001 in the Netherlands. The trend expanded its horizon through many countries, and today same-sex marriage is legally recognized (nationwide or in some parts) in so many countries like United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden etc.
Reference: Wikipedia
