Bill Shorten has labelled this the year of ideas but obviously Labor would rather have the overwhelming attention on the Coalition for as long as possible.
Peter McGraith and David Cabreza were one of the first same-sex couples to marry in the UK.
Jonathan Brady/PA
Marriage is a big step forward for the UK’s gay, lesbian and bisexual people – but there’s plenty more to be done to improve their lives.
Massachusetts couple Marcia Hams and her partner Susan Shepard had a cake to celebrate their historic first same-sex wedding in 2004, but some bakers feel unable to oblige on religious grounds.
EPA C.J. Gunther
When a baker refuses, on religious grounds, to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, the right to freedom of religion comes into conflict with the right to freedom from discrimination.
The march towards equal marriage rights in Ireland is well ahead of Australia, yet the level of public support in each nation is remarkably similar.
William Murphy/Flickr
Support for equal marriage rights in Ireland and Australia is remarkably similar: 71% in Ireland and 72% in Australia. The key difference is that Australian politicians are choosing not to listen.
The US Supreme Court will consider whether state bans on same-sex marriage are constitutional.
Flickr/vpickering
The US Supreme Court agreed last Friday to hear four cases about same-sex marriage. Essentially, this means that, having previously avoided doing so, the court will finally consider whether or not same-sex…
The extraordinary synod of bishops on family is meeting for two weeks at the Vatican.
EPA/L'Osservatore Romano
A report of debate from the first half of the extraordinary synod of Catholic bishops meeting in Rome has been described as a “pastoral earthquake” and a “seismic shift in Rome” for praising gay relationships…
Some of the first to take advantage of the new law.
Will Oliver
The first statistics on same-sex marriages in England and Wales show a disappointing take-up in the three months since the right to marry was extended to lesbian and gay couples. According to figures released…
Philip Nitschke and David Leyonhjelm have appealed libertarian ideals in their arguments for euthanasia and same-sex marriage respectively.
Joe Castro & Luca Koch/AAP
The suspension of Philip Nitschke’s medical registration, and the events leading up to it, has sparked one of the most heated discussions about euthanasia in Australia for some time. What’s surprising…
Public support for change that would enable Tony Abbott’s sister Christine (right) to marry her same-sex partner is much stronger than for ‘axing the tax’, but the PM is selectively deaf to the people’s voice.
AAP/Joe Castro
Disaffection with Australian politics seems visceral and entrenched. An Essential poll in late June found that only 25% of those polled had trust in the federal parliament. Discussing this poll, Michelle…
Same-sex parents are more likely to share child care and work responsibilities more equitably than other families.
Jessica Lucia/Flickr
It’s often suggested that children with same-sex parents have poorer outcomes because they’re missing a parent of a particular sex. But research my colleagues and I published in the journal BMC Public…
A woman protests in Britain against the stoning of people for sexual ‘crimes’. Brunei is moving to apply the Sharia law penalty to gay people.
EPA/Facundo Arrizabalaga
Although Australia does not yet allow same-sex couples to marry, it is not a country that is generally described as homophobic. The days of it being a crime to be gay here are, thankfully, a relic of a…
The more the west recognises and protects gay rights, the more African and Asian nations (such as Uganda and India) seem determined to go in the opposite direction.
AAP
Media coverage of gays and lesbians in 2014 has followed a very different trend to previous years. Rather than good news stories about love and weddings, the majority of reports relate to violence, persecution…
The High Court has ruled the ACT’s same-sex marriage law invalid, citing its inconsistency with the federal Marriage Act.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The ACT’s Marriage Equality (Same Sex Act) 2013 produced neither a marriage nor equality. Instead it produced inconsistency, leaving the law completely inoperative. Those who exchanged marriage vows last…
The High Court will this week begin deliberating on whether or not the ACT’s same-sex marriage bill is consistent with the Constitution.
AAP/Alan Porritt
This week, the High Court will begin hearing the Commonwealth’s challenge to the ACT’s Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013. But don’t expect lofty rhetoric about equality; the case is really about the…
It’s set to be a big few months for the High Court of Australia. What are the key cases to watch?
petelawley
In coming months, the High Court – the highest court in Australia and the final arbiter on the meaning of the Constitution – will decide several high-profile cases. These decisions, which may result in…
The terms on which the broader public conversation is taking place are remarkably narrow.
Robyn Ramsay
In most public discussions, the issue of same-sex marriage is posed as a simple question – for or against? – where to be for or against is to be, more or less, for or against gay people. Although it doesn’t…
What do we know so far of the policy positions of new opposition leader Bill Shorten?
AAP/Lukas Coch
In his pitch to Labor’s rank and file for the right to lead the federal parliamentary party, Bill Shorten declared that his aim - should he become prime minister - would be to serve on behalf of: … the…
It all comes down to matters of interpretation, and the interpretation that counts is that of the High Court.
Image from shutterstock.com
The ACT’s Marriage Equality Bill, which is expected to pass parliament later this month, has revived the controversy about who can legislate for same-sex marriage, with the Commonwealth proposing to challenge…
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity