Outcry over same-sex wedding ban By Craig Clarke 14aug04
SAME-SEX
marriages have been banned in Australia after an emotional Senate debate yesterday.
Marriage has now been enshrined as a union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.
Gay rights groups were outraged, branding it the most "backward step for gay and lesbian rights by any Parliament
in 30 years". They were considering whether to launch a High Court challenge to the laws on human rights grounds.
The Government and Labor used their numbers in the Senate to ban gay marriages after a three-hour debate.
In an emotional Senate speech, Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja attacked the Government and Labor
over the ban.
The senator questioned how the major parties could imply her heterosexual marriage was more valuable than
homosexual matrimony.
South Australian Labor Senator Penny Wong, who was in a long-term gay relationship, said she looked forward
to when the issue was consigned to the graveyard of history.
"Nobody has a monopoly on commitment and love, nobody has the right to judge the worth of another person's
relationships," Senator Wong said.
A Labor government would implement a number of changes to tax, superannuation, family and immigration laws
to stamp out discrimination against gays.
Australian Democrats sexuality spokesman Brian Greig said the bill had been driven by fundamentalist Christian
MPs and community leaders, who rallied in Canberra last week.
Spokesman for same-sex couples lobby group Let's Get Equal, Matthew Loader, vowed to fight the laws.
Australian Family Association vice president Bill Muehlenberg applauded the ban: "The laws re-affirm what
every culture already knows and that is marriage is between a man and woman."
A Senate inquiry into marriage laws, which has received more than 12,000 submissions, is due to report in
October.
Meanwhile, tough new anti-terrorism laws also passed the Senate yesterday.
The changes mean authorities can prosecute anyone who helps terrorist organisations. Prisoners also can
be transferred to special jails while ASIO will have the power to demand a person surrender their Australian passport.
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