Australian Marriage Equality (AME) welcomed the passage last night
of the Civil Unions Bill 2006 by the ACT Legislative
Assembly.
"The ACT Labor Government, led by
Jon Stanhope, deserves to be congratulated. This is a very
significant step forward in our push towards full legal equality
under Australian law", said Peter Furness, AME national convener.
"This is not only a win for same-sex couples in the ACT. Couples
from around the country can also now receive formal
recognition and can celebrate their love and commitment in a civil
union ceremony sanctioned and approved by the state.
Jon Stanhope said that "while
the ACT Government had
previously legislated to ensure that same-sex couples are on an
equal legal footing with other de facto domestic
partnerships, same-sex couples do
not have equal legal recognition with married couples. And,
of course, with the Federal Government’s recent amendments to the
Marriage Act to effectively exclude same-sex couples, they have been
denied the prospect of being given full legal recognition at a
national level any time soon. Civil unions
will deliver recognition, without conflicting with or changing the
meaning of marriage."
P
eter
Furness said he expected that couples
residing outside the ACT who took
advantage of the new civil unions scheme
would soon begin agitating for
recognition in their own states and for
full recognition at a federal level.
"As
the number of same-sex couples entering an ACT civil union grows,
more will ask why they too cannot be given full and equal
recognition at a federal level; why they shouldn't be allowed to
marry if that is their wish", said Peter Furness.
AME
has called on the federal government to discontinue plans to
overturn the ACT legislation.
"Australians are increasingly aware of and uncomfortable with laws
which discriminate against and exclude gays and lesbians. Most
Australians would view an overturning of the ACT legislation as
unjust", said Peter Furness.
