Greens鈥� marriage warning
The Victorian Greens say they will pursue same-sex marriage laws at a state level if federal attempts fail.
Greens MLC and GLBTI spokeswoman Sue Pennicuik told Sydney Star Observer the party was considering the opinion of constitutional expert, Professor George Williams believes the states have the ability to legislate for gay marriage.
鈥淲e are looking at it at the moment,鈥� Pennicuik said.
鈥淲hat is happening in Tasmania and watching to see how [Greens Senator] Sarah [Hanson-Young] goes with her Marriage Equality Bill, that鈥檚 all happening at the federal level … but we鈥檙e looking at that very seriously.鈥�
Pennicuik said the party would investigate the possibility of a state law further.
鈥淸Williams鈥橾 has given an opinion and we鈥檒l have a look at that and see if it would be possible,鈥� she said.
鈥淯nless [Prime Minister] Julia Gillard gives a conscience vote [on the Marriage Equality Bill before federal Parliament], I can鈥檛 see it getting up. Labor鈥檚 going to vote against it.鈥�
In an opinion piece published in September Williams, a constitutional law expert from Sydney University, said because the federal Marriage Act specifically defines marriage as a union between a man and a women, a state law referring to two people of the same sex, would not directly conflict with the federal act.
鈥淭he only possible impediment to a state same-sex marriage law is that it may be overridden by an inconsistent federal law under section 109 of the constitution,鈥� Williams wrote.
鈥淏ut if it turns out that federal Parliament cannot pass laws for same-sex marriage, it could not override state laws on the topic.鈥�
Marriage laws were previously taken care of by the states until 1961 when the federal Marriage Act was instated.
Pennicuik said the issue will be raised because voters simply want the issue to be resolved.
鈥淔or most of the community it鈥檚 like 鈥榦f course, lets just do it and move on鈥�,鈥� she said.
Tasmania this year passed a law which recognised overseas same-sex marriage and civil partnerships.
Gay and lesbian couples in Tasmania are able to formalise their relationship in a Deed of Partnership, similar to the Relationship Register in Victoria.
That’s so true Dave in what you quoted!!!!!
The Greens and also the independents, not Bob Katter (the mad homophobic bigot who said the stupid “Bourke comment”) are our best allies and good friends – unlike the bigoted and homophobic Labor and Liberal parties that are run and funded by influential church power, the Christian-Taliban and the happy clappers at Hillsong!!!!
VOTE 1 for the Greens and the independents (not Bob Katter mind you)!!!!
When the Australian Senate gets 9 Greens members and really controls the balance of power from 1 July 2011, they must make a deal with Labor:
“The Greens will vote to approve your proposed minority-government legislative bills on parliamentary budgets, health reform, airport and national security, broadband and on political donations with one condition – if you agree to a ‘conscientious’ vote on the same sex marriage bill that the Greens member Sarah Hanson-Young’s introduced!”
That should get the political, economic, social and media ball rolling!!!!
Gav- When you support political parties that seek to oppress people and deny them basic human rights simply due to their sexuality, then what party is the real threat? Who are the real Lunatics? Not the Greens that is for sure.
I know your evangelical spin on the Greens. Unite the flock in fear. We all have an enemy people, head for the hills!! But we are educated. We do not seek to be oppressed and denied basic human rights and freedoms. We do not want Labor to take advice from the Klu Klux klan on people who are not white or the Australian Christian Lobby on GLBTQI issues. The facts are the Labor and Liberal Party love the Greens and want them to have power. You have to call the leaders of these parties as they are giving votes to the Greens on a silver plate. Labor and Liberal Love the Greens. They even preference them as number 2 above each other.
The Real threat is the Liberal Party that moved aside terrorist legislation to stop Same-Sex Marriage. A man strapped with bombs on a Sydney train is less of a threat according to Gav then us. Well I know I would rather be on a train with a loving Same-Sex couple then some lunatic with bomb.
I would like to ask Gave why Lunatic Liberals reduced doctors training, resulting in the greatest doctor shortage in recent history. Why the Lunatic Liberals apposed a fast Fiber optic network that would create more then a million jobs, and help deliver confidential health services to people in rural areas. Some country people who happen to from our community cannot access health services as they are run by religious people of hate. Why did the Lunatic Liberals not expel party members with links to religious hate groups? Why did the Liberal Party flood this country with people without giving all of us infrastructure? Why did the Liberal Party take us to war knowing the reason was a lie? Perhaps Gav you can sit down with families of our dead soldiers and tell them who the Lunatics are, or visit the Graves of the over hundred thousand children that died in Iraq?
Perhaps Gav you explain why Labor and Liberal think is ok to use tax payer money that we all pay to discriminate against other tax payers on the basis of race, sexuality, and gender. Church businesses such as hospitals and nursing homes have an exemption in the Federal Equal Opportunity Act to carry out acts of hate against our community.
Labor and Liberal almost broke Tasmania. Now we have a Greens coalition with Labor and we are seeing really positive policy that even logging communities agree with.
No Gav, the only Lunatics are in the Labor and Liberal Party. You should inform yourself better before you next start venting.
gav, just keep the ‘communist lunatics’ line going! More votes to the Greens will ensure!
If both Lib & Labor were advocating bringing back slavery, & the Greens were not, then the choice would be simple.
With a clear conscience, many family members & friends of gays can no longer vote for a major party that advocates 2nd class citizenship for a civil function – civil marriage.
Once discrimination is eliminated, then feel free to vote for the major parties again. The American civil war eventually got smoothed over & the Democrat party that supported slavery was eventually split in two & reformed into a progressive party. Labor can’t continue to have a foot in both camps before it splits at the seams.
fyi- Right Wing Labor Power Broker Mark Arbib has just come out today saying the same thing- “If I was the parent of a gay son or daughter I don’t know how I could tell them they didn’t have the same rights as I do”.
The Labor Party is now splitting at the seams- and only by continuing to vote Green in the short term until Labor implodes & reforms, will ensure the abolition of 2nd class citizenship.
the Greens are communist lunatics- Do not be fooled
Again…this is a tricky one- on the one hand Marriage laws in Australia since 1961 only carry weight at a national level since (although there are small amount of state laws still involved)鈥�
鈥�.. but on the other hand the WORD marriage seems to be THE stumbling block (even just plain old civil marriage in a government registry office like any other straight tax payer can have).
As a last resort, implementing civil marriage at a state level would smash open the latter point- it would be like a shaken up can of soft drink with the top opened- it will all gush out鈥� and the other states would fall like dominos until it鈥檚 national. The fear of the word marriage will disappear as soon as footage of marriages occuring in Victoria and Tassie are plastered across national and INTERNATIONAL tv screens.
In the past Labor was able to put a lid on this idea鈥� but now the Greens have & are continuing to gain power and relevance, this idea can鈥檛 be stopped by Labor again so easily this time- but they will try, with every excuse under the sun.
So that’s two states so far- any more?