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.
Howdy, partner: Rebecca Steinfeld (C) and Charles Keidan (L).
EPA/Facundo Arrizabalaga
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.
As the state has opened the doors for same sex couples to marry, the Anglican Church is making it even harder to come to the party.
AAP/Shutterstock/The Conversation
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.
LGB people are overall happier and healthier in communities with fewer ‘no’ votes in last year’s same-sex marriage referendum.
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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.
Marchers at the 1978 Mardi Gras parade.
Sally Colechin/The Pride History Group
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.
The road to same-sex marriage within churches is likely to be a long one indeed.
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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.
Funding debates will likely spill into the new year.
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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.
MPs clapped and hugged each other after the private member’s bill went through.
Lukas Coch/AAP
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.
The fight for LGBTI people to live lives free from discrimination will continue.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
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