Same sex marriage

Marriage equality plebiscite to be held in Australia in 2017 – reports

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Voters will be asked if they approve of a law permitting ‘people of the same sex to marry’ early next year, the Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday

The plebiscite to decide whether marriage equality should be legalised in Australia will be held in February 2017.

The Daily Telegraph reported late on Saturday that the issue would not be put to the Australian public until early next year.

Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister, had pledged before the July election to hold the plebiscite before the end of the year.

The plebiscite will reportedly ask: “Do you approve of a law to permit people of the same sex to marry?”

The government had considered other options for the question, but those would be abandoned after testing poorly in focus groups funded by activists.

Voting would be compulsory with fines imposed for those who failed to do so

Snip

In July a poll found that only 48% of Australians backed a marriage equality plebiscite, casting doubt over the government’s claim the “overwhelming majority” of Australians were in favour of the idea.

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NEW POLL SHOWS SURGE IN SUPPORT OF MARRIAGE EQUALITY

NEW polling released yesterday shows the number of Australians in support of marriage equality continues to grow.

An Essential Poll released yesterday found a five per cent increase in support from late 2015.

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The poll found 64 per cent of respondents support marriage equality, up from 59 per cent last October.

Essential Polls on marriage equality traditionally return lower levels of support than Newspoll, Ipsos, Galaxy, or Crosby/Textor polls, which often put support at about 70 per cent.

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Tasmania Becomes First Australian State To Pass Support For Same-Sex Marriage

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Nice work, Tassie.

Tasmania has become the first state to pass a motion in support of same-sex marriage in Australia.

Yesterday, Tasmania passed an in-principal support motion through the Upper House, which was originally put forth by independent Tony Mulder.

The motion was supported eight votes to five. It marks the first time a same-sex motion has passed, having been defeated twice before.

Labor MHA Lara Giddings took the opportunity to suggest that Tasmania's successful vote is further evidence that the upcoming plebiscite is not needed.

“Tasmania has taken a stand just as I’m positive a groundswell of [federal MPs] would be willing to take a stand with a free vote on the floor,” said Giddings.

Rodney Croome, a marriage equality campaigner, also noted that Tasmania's support is an encouraging sign if the plebiscite did go ahead.

“It sends the message to the Tasmanian people that our representatives are right behind marriage equality and it will encourage more Tasmanians to vote for the reform if they do end up at the ballot box,” said Croome.

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Vice President Joe Biden Performs Same-Sex Marriage at His Home: 'Love is Love!'

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Vice President Joe Biden officiated a same-sex wedding Monday, performing his first wedding at the vice presidential home in Washington, D.C.

Biden performed the ceremony after longtime White House staffers Brian Mosteller and Joe Mahshie him to officiate, a White House spokesman told reporters.

“Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house,” Biden tweeted along with a photo of himself performing the wedding. The second in command was pictured smiling as Mosteller slid Mahshie’s wedding ring on his finger.

Taiwan Set to Legalize Same-sex Marriages, a First in Asia

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TAIPEI —
Su Shan and her partner are raising 5-month-old twins together, but only one of the women is their legal parent. That could soon change as Taiwan appears set to become the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

“Now, if something happens to the child, the other partner is nothing but a stranger,” said Su, a 35-year-old software engineer in Taipei. By contrast, either partner in a legally recognized marriage could make legal, medical and educational decisions, she says.

Taiwanese lawmakers are currently working on three bills in support of marriage equality, one of which is already listed for review and could be passed within months. Same-sex marriage also has the prominent support of President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female head of state.

About 80 percent of Taiwanese between ages 20 and 29 support same-sex marriage, said Tseng Yen-jung, spokeswoman for the group Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy, citing local university studies. Taiwan's United Daily News found in a survey taken four years ago that 55 percent of the public supported same-sex marriage, with 37 percent opposed.

That's seen as a reflection of Taiwan's ready acceptance of multi-party democracy and other inclusive attitudes, as well as the fact that Taiwan's 23 million people largely follow Buddhism and traditional Chinese religions that take no strong positions on sexual orientation or gay marriage.

Gay and lesbian relationships began to find wide acceptance in the 1990s, aided by the already well-established feminist movement, said Jens Damm, associate Professor in the Graduate Institute of Taiwan Studies at Chang Jung University in Taiwan.

“The elite became in favor of a kind of gender equality,” Damm said.

Still, same-sex marriage still had to overcome traditional perceptions of gender roles and the strong pressure on children to marry and have kids. The self-ruled island also lacks many openly gay and lesbian celebrities to lead the way; the writer and television talk show host Kevin Tsai is among the few exceptions.

Taiwan would join Canada, Colombia, Ireland, the United States and 16 other countries that have legalized same-sex marriage over the past 15 years, according to the Washington, D.C.-based LGBT rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign . But it would be a notable exception among Asian and Middle Eastern countries, at least 20 of which continue to ban same-sex intercourse.

“It's a big step forward for the history of human rights,” said Yu Mei-nu, a ruling Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker who is sponsoring the same-sex marriage bill now in line for parliamentary debate. “If Taiwan can get this passed ... it will give other Asian countries a model.”

Taiwan's Justice Ministry has not backed a specific bill, but pledged on its website last month to maintain an “attitude of openness” toward same-sex marriage. President Tsai said as recently as October that she supports same-sex marriage.

Domestic gays and lesbians have also formed an effective lobby in recent years. An annual Gay Pride march in Taipei last month drew tens of thousands of people, many pushing for gay marriage. About 100 people have separately formed a group pushing for the cause.

For Log Chen, a Tarot card fortune teller in Taipei, legalized marriage would mean she and her partner of three years could make future plans with more confidence.

“In case something happens to my partner, I will not be left with nothing,” Chen, 32, said.

While practical issues such as sharing assets and medical benefits are motivating factors, simple love and respect are also a strong impetus, said Jay Lin, founder and director of the Taiwan International Queer Film Festival.

“There are lots of people who have been loving and committed to each other for decades and they'd like to put a ring around their finger,” said the father of 4-month-old twin boys, who said he would consider marrying his partner.

Still, as legalization grows closer, opposition to same-sex marriage is hardening among a small minority of fundamentalist churches and conservative politicians. That includes some members of the main opposition Nationalist Party's Central Standing Committee, party spokesman Hu Wen-chi said.

During their time in power, the Nationalists stopped earlier efforts to pass same-sex marriage bills, including one introduced in 2013 that met opposition from Christian groups that gathered signatures from about 400,000 naysayers.

Legalizing same-sex marriages would burden Taiwan's welfare system and be tough on children, said Chen Chih-hung, chairman of the year-old political party Faith And Hope League, which has no seats in parliament.

The death of a same-sex spouse would leave the survivor dependent on government support as many couples would not have children to support them in old age, Chen said. Children of such couples would find it difficult to socialize with children from more mainstream families, he said, although that argument has been refuted by many social scientists.

Su, the software engineer, said she and her partner, also 35, find little sign of such concerns among the people they meet. Most Taiwanese are highly accepting of their relationship and their right to raise children, she says.

“We go to the market with our kids and people say `how cute,”' she said. “When they find there are two mamas, they feel intrigued. Maybe they have seen news about this type of family but don't have friends near them who are doing it.”

Taiwan Set to Legalize Same-sex Marriages, a First in Asia

Same sex marriage, marijuana, climate change, interfering governments/human rights.......these issues are all gaining traction around the world. Time for governments to stop dragging their feet and face the inevitable: Change.

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SYDNEY, Australia — A bill that would have allowed a national plebiscite on legalizing same-sex marriage in Australia was defeated in Parliament on Monday. The vote in the Senate ended hopes for a change in the country’s marriage laws in the near future.

But on Monday, a majority of senators from the Greens and from the Labor Party, along with lawmakers from smaller parties, joined together to block the plebiscite, by a vote of 33-29.

Although the Greens and Labor support legalizing same-sex marriage, they oppose holding a plebiscite, calling it a possible platform for hate speech. Instead, they advocate deciding the issue in Parliament.

“We know a plebiscite is divisive,” Penny Wong, a senator from the Labor Party, said on Monday during the debate. “It will give those who oppose equality a multimillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded megaphone to spread a message of intolerance.”

Ms. Wong, who is gay and who spoke about her two young children during the debate, described the plebiscite as a “mechanism dreamed up by those in the coalition who oppose equality.” It is the wrong way to achieve same-sex marriage, she said.

“More than two-thirds of Australians support marriage equality,” Mr. Croome said in an interview. The majority of lawmakers want change, he said, and just a handful need to be persuaded to defy party lines for the Marriage Act to be revised.

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Trump says he's 'fine' with legalization of same-sex marriage

“These cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been settled. And I’m—I’m fine with that,” he said.

We’ll see what type of Supreme Court nominee he puts forward.

Taiwan moves a step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage

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Taiwan’s parliament on Monday passed the first draft of a controversial marriage equality bill, moving the island a step closer to becoming the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex nuptials.

A legislative committee approved the amendment to the civil law that would allow gay couples to legally tie the knot, as dozens of opponents to the change rallied outside to demand a referendum on the divisive issue.

“Stop reviewing (the bill). Put it to a referendum,” protesters shouted. Some demonstrators climbed over a wall into the parliamentary grounds and were later removed by police.

One man even made it as far as the committee’s meeting room but was stopped before he could reach the podium.

Lawmaker Yu Mei-nu of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who proposed the bill, hailed Monday’s decision as an example of Taiwan’s “mature democracy” and called for calm and tolerance.

“It is not the end of the world to pass such a bill. Heterosexual marriages will not be destroyed. … I hope everybody will take a calm and tolerant attitude,” Yu told reporters.

The amendments require further vetting before they can take effect, a process Yu estimated would take around six months.

Gay couple win right to be married in Estonia

Estonia was the first ex-Soviet Union country to legalize same-sex civil unions

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Estonia has taken a big step towards marriage equality.

Earlier this week, the Baltic state strengthened the rights of two same-sex couples, giving others the hope that equality may not be far off.

Last week, a court in the capital Tallinn decided in its second instance to recognize the marriage of two men.

It is the first time a marriage between two men has been legally recognized in Estonia.

The couple wed in Sweden, but now reside in Estonia.

In first instance, the authorities in the district of Harju, which includes Tallinn, refused to enter the men’s marriage into the civil register.

But in December, the District Court ruled in their favor.

The judges said there was ‘nothing in the way’ of registering the two men as married; the authorities did not appeal the ruling.

On Tuesday, the men were finally officially registered as a married couple.

They are the first male same-sex couple to be legally married in Estonia.

For experts and activists, the ruling could be a precedent, and it might just lead the way to marriage equality.

In 2016, Estonia became the first ex-Soviet Union country to have legalized civil partnerships.

But the legal situation for same-sex couples has been described as confusing and chaotic.

They can enter a civil partnership, which is called a cohabitation agreement.

Implemented on 1 January 2016, it was supposed to give same-sex couples nearly the same rights as straight couples, including adoption rights.

But in reality the conservative Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, who forms part of Estonia’s coalition government, is blocking further legislation to actually increase same-sex couples’ rights.

Right now, same-sex couples are still limited to fostering or step-adoption.

Might aswell just scrap marriage altogether now as the batty fraternity have made it meaningless.

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Originally Posted by buriramboy

Might aswell just scrap marriage altogether now as the batty fraternity have made it meaningless.

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As opposed to your battering fraternity...now that means something.

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Originally Posted by buriramboy

Might aswell just scrap marriage altogether now as the batty fraternity have made it meaningless.

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I think this is really buriramboy.

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Finnish parliament confirms same-sex marriage law

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Finland's parliament voted down on Friday a citizens' petition demanding the repeal of a law that will allow same-sex marriages, securing the future of the law that will come into force next month.

In the vote, 120 members of parliament were opposed to the petition, while 48 supported it.

"That's it! The parliament confirms same-sex marriage to be 100 percent certain from here to eternity. Happy weddings," Green Party leader Ville Niinisto wrote on Twitter after the vote.

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Washington Supreme Court rules against florist in same-sex wedding case

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The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a florist who refused to provide services for a same-sex wedding broke the state’s anti-discrimination law, even though she claimed doing so would violate her religious beliefs.

Barronelle Stutzman, a florist in Richland, Washington, had been fined by a lower court for denying service to a gay couple in 2013. Stutzman said she was exercising her First Amendment rights.

But the court held that her floral arrangements do not constitute protected free speech, and that providing flowers to a same-sex wedding would not serve as an endorsement of same-sex marriage.

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Originally Posted by S Landreth

providing flowers to a same-sex wedding would not serve as an endorsement of same-sex marriage.

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I expect there will be many more cases of such stupidity in the future: US Christians, believing God is on their side, tend to insist that everyone in the secular community follow their rules. Whole swaths of the south and southwest are indoctrinated in blinkered hate and intolerance every Sunday...right before football...

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Originally Posted by tomcat

Whole swaths of the south and southwest are indoctrinated in blinkered hate and intolerance every Sunday...right before football...

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I think you would find that even though a shotload of people think homo marriage is cringy, groce, and weird - most people don't really give a fuck if y'all wanna get married & shit. Nor do people really give much of a fuck if a dude wants to tuck wiener & put lipstick on. The problem is that US LGBT crews have some really far-out other planet political views & general ideals. Government can make it legal but they can't stop people from not liking it.

You would also find that nowadays hardcore Christians are the minority.

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Originally Posted by Slick

The problem is that US LGBT crews have some really far-out other planet political views & general ideals.

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...I know: imagine demanding equality in the US! Outrageous...I mean, blacks were bad enough...

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Originally Posted by Slick

You would also find that nowadays hardcore Christians are the minority

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...Darwin uber alles!

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Originally Posted by tomcat

...I know: imagine demanding equality in the US! Outrageous...I mean, blacks were bad enough...

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Why do you always bring up blacks? The situaltion was and is nothing alike.

In what ways are you not equal or discriminated against in the US? Ok you can't marry who ever or whatever you want right now in every state but times are changing and it's on the horizon, maybe even closer, maybe about 4 years from now.

Other than that what are your greviences?

I mean ok you get married & shit and can file a joint fuckin tax return but I mean what kinda crisis is that? You get your paper and then what? In what way are you not equal or discriminated against?

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Originally Posted by Slick

Why do you always bring up blacks? The situaltion was and is nothing alike.

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...disagree: nearly identical as both groups demanded equality under the US constitution and required legal action to obtain it...

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Originally Posted by Slick

In what ways are you not equal or discriminated against in the US?

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...with equality in marriage, my spouse can now, for example, visit me in hospital as family..a simple notion breeders take for granted (for themselves)...

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Originally Posted by Slick

Other than that what are your greviences?

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...fewer and fewer I'm happy to say...social opprobrium against gays will eventually decline along with religious intolerance...winning the legal battle was key. The social battle, as with blacks, Jews, women etc, however, will take generations. Christians tend to be a rather persistent group when it comes to hate...

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Originally Posted by Slick

Why do you always bring up blacks?

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It's a default position. Black people are the only folks on earth to have ever suffered discrimination; or been enslaved, or been mistreated in any way by people of some other color....:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by koman

It's a default position

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...no need for a default position at all...Plan A assumes equality will be achieved eventually...so far, that's working...

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Originally Posted by tomcat

with equality in marriage, my spouse can now, for example, visit me in hospital as family..a simple notion breeders take for granted (for themselves)...

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Yeah, um, you could just sign your significant other as cleared to visit. And next of kin. There is no reason why your significant other can not visit you nor be your emergency contact or anything else.

And I'm not sure "the blacks" would agree with your definition as this hospital issue isn't even on the same planet as slavery, lynching, etc... Not even close to "nearly identical".

Anyway I'm not against marriage. Don't really give a shit. What I think is fucked up is how ott it is to compare it to "blacks" or "Jews" or whatever.

This is kinda what I was talking about with the other planet political views/ideals the LGBT crews have. Along with throwing around the words 'hate' and 'bigot' etc...

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Originally Posted by Slick

This is kinda what I was talking about with the other planet political views/ideals the LGBT crews have

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...I assume you're referring to equality as an otherworldly notion...I understand how straight folks think it's an alien goal...ignorance is comforting.

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Originally Posted by Slick

Along with throwing around the words 'hate' and 'bigot' etc...

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Yes those two words are the standard fare of the extremist left. When a person deemed to be "conservative" speaks out against something they disagree with, it's "hate" or "hate speech" and the speaker is clearly a Fascist.

The way they would like all this "hate" to be controlled is to stop everybody who disagrees with them from speaking.....but they do claim to support free speech and freedom of expression etc etc......

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Originally Posted by koman

When a person deemed to be "conservative" speaks out against something they disagree with, it's "hate" or "hate speech" and the speaker is clearly a Fascist.

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...unfortunate generalization...

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Originally Posted by koman

The way they would like all this "hate" to be controlled is to stop everybody who disagrees with them from speaking

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...and yet another...

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Originally Posted by tomcat

I assume you're referring to equality as an otherworldly notion...I understand how straight folks think it's an alien goal...ignorance is comforting.

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But you guys are, in fact, equal to everyone else. Your rights are no less than anyone else's. Top to bottom on an individual basis everyone is equal according to the law.

I keep hearing about "rights" and "equality" and "blacks" but there is equality already and you guys are campaigning for another aspect of sexuality to be recognized - you aren't being discriminated against under any laws. There are no laws that signal you out as a lesser person than someone else. You are trying to change something that's 1000's of years old by calling everyone else ignorant.

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Originally Posted by tomcat

unfortunate generalization

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That you yourself are completely guilty of no doubt.

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Originally Posted by Slick

everyone is equal according to the law

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...now, yes...

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Originally Posted by Slick

you aren't being discriminated against under any laws

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...now, yes...

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Originally Posted by Slick

You are trying to change something that's 1000's of years old by calling everyone else ignorant.

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...that something you refer to is the social aspect that needs to change: e.g., bullying of gay people, promoting "religious rights" laws that allow discrimination against gays, etc...these old and, in some quarters respected, attitudes are ready for an update...and yes, adherence to stone age tribal laws suggests a self-defeating ignorance...as the current state of race relations in the States suggests, generations will have to come and go before there is real social change...

Heterosexual couple lose civil partnership challenge

A heterosexual couple have lost their Court of Appeal battle for the right to enter into a civil partnership instead of a marriage.
Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, from London, challenged a ruling that they could not have a civil partnership because they did not meet the legal requirement of being the same sex.
The couple had argued that this meant they faced discrimination.
But the Court of Appeal dismissed their challenge.
The BBC's legal affairs correspondent Clive Coleman said the couple had lost by the "narrowest of margins" as all three judges accepted that there was a potential breach of their human rights.
Our correspondent said: "The government's 'wait and see' policy, which is based on looking at the take-up of same-sex civil partnerships, was found by Lady Justice Arden not to be not good enough to address the discrimination faced by heterosexual couples.
"However, her fellow judges were prepared to let the government have a little more time and so the case was lost on that issue alone."
Ms Steinfeld, 35, and Mr Keidan, 40, want to secure legal recognition of their seven-year relationship but have said that marriage is not suitable for them.
The academics, who live in Hammersmith, west London, and have a 20-month-old daughter, say that the government's position is "incompatible with equality law".

Heterosexual couple lose civil partnership challenge - BBC News

So homosexuals continue to have more rights than hetrosexuals in the UK, so much for equality.

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Originally Posted by buriramboy

So homosexuals continue to have more rights than hetrosexuals in the UK, so much for equality

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...fight for your rights, RamBoy! Don't let so-called judges trample on your preferred social arrangements...