Friday 2 December 2011
Civil Union ... what's left to create equality?
On the legal face of it gay couples are equal in regards to civil rights as a couple under the law in Queensland. In the traditional sense of the words 'wedding' and 'marriage' it ain't so much ... but that's only in the sense of that union being 'ritualised'. What's stopping same sex couples from creating their own sort of ... uh ... ritual? Really, they only need someone officiating that can witness the signing of the documents. If that's how it works..
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The problem is a federal one, when the marriage act was introduced to codify in law a lot of the inheritance,death benefits,access etc rights which the law provides for legally recognized married couples, it originally only specified a union between two people. It was the then Prime Minister John Howard who required it be amended to specify a marriage between a man and a woman, thus excluding same sex couples. I think this is one of the reasons that same sex couples shouldn't settle for coming up with their own 'ritual' just don't call it marriage, because under the current federal act it wouldn't be recognized under the law with the same protections and responsibilities as marriage.
ReplyDeleteAhhh k. Cheers.
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