Six months after same-sex marriage became legal in Australia, none of the disasters the “no” side warned about have come to fruition, but there is still some way to go to achieve real equality.
Civil partnerships were introduced as a quick-fix device for a minority group. Instead, they ended up forcing heterosexuals to campaign for the same rights as LGBTQ+ people.
In response to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia, conservative clergy have hardened their stance against it, causing even more pain for same-sex Christian couples.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that EU member states must recognise same-sex marriages concluded elsewhere in the EU, even if they don’t allow same-sex marriage.
Some Australian Christians claim to be persecuted – this is not only wrong, it is an insult to thousands around the world who are at risk because of their religion.
On the Sydney Mardi Gras march of 1978
The Conversation, CC BY31.7 MB(download)
On a cold Saturday night in Sydney on June 24, 1978, a number of gay men, lesbians and transgender people marched into the pages of Australian social history. I was one of them.
A new survey asking Australians to rank the most significant events in their lifetimes show that same-sex marriage, September 11 and the apology to the Stolen Generations matter most.
Michael Courts, The Conversation and Amanda Dunn, The Conversation
2017 has felt like a chaotic year in Australian politics, and one in which policy progress has been swamped by other distractions. We can only hope that 2018 is calmer and more productive.
The drawn-out process of Australia legalising marriage equality has finally come to a close, with a bill passing the lower house by an overwhelming majority on Thursday.
The first same-sex weddings will be celebrated early in the new year after the historic change to the marriage law passed the House of Representatives with only four MPs voting against.
Same-sex marriage has passed the Senate to much fanfare and celebration. But will its passage change the way we think about human rights and democracy in Australia?
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity