众议院今日否决同性婚姻提案，下一步重点是争取州通过同性婚姻

xblues

原文链接：
http://www.theage.com.au/nationa ... 20120919-266a8.html



Advocates will shift their focus to legalising same sex marriage at the state level, after Federal MPs yesterday voted down a bill which would have allowed gay couples to marry.

Wong vows to fight on for baby daughter

The bill, introduced by Labor backbencher Stephen Jones, was defeated in the house of representatives 98 votes to 42. Ten of the 17 Cabinet Ministers in the lower house, Green Adam Bandt and independents Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Craig Thomson voted for same sex marriage. All coalition MPs, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Treasurer Wayne Swan and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd voted against the bill.

Channelling another former Labor Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, Mr Jones urged campaigners to "maintain your rage," while the Australian Christian Lobby head Jim Wallace said it was time for the parliament to "move on."

Gay rights activists said they would now look to state and territory parliaments to make the change.
Advertisement
"Now the federal parliament has effectively brushed the wishes of a majority of Australians aside, the states and territories will take the lead, making me confident we will see same sex marriages performed somewhere in Australia by the end of the year," Australian Marriage Equality convener Alex Greenwich said.
Tasmania's lower house last month passed a bill to legalise gay marriage. It must still pass the state's 15-seat Legislative Council to become law. Efforts to legalise same sex marriage are also underway in South Australia, the ACT and New South Wales, where Premier Barry O'Farrell will allow his MPs a free vote.
UNSW law professor George Williams said state same sex marriage would be a step forward, but was not a substitute for national recognition because a marriage conducted in one state would not be recognised outside it.
Meanwhile, chief opposition whip Warren Entsch said he would consult with gay rights campaigners, opposition leader Tony Abbott and his coalition colleagues about introducing a bill for "civil partnerships," which would provide national legal recognition to both same and opposite sex couples.
The Senate is today (Thursday) expected to vote on a separate same sex marriage bill co-sponsored by Labor Senators Trish Crossin, Carol Brown, Gavin Marshall and Louise Pratt.
In debate yesterday, Finance Minister Penny Wong, whose partner Sophie Allouache gave birth to a baby girl in December, described as "hurtful" arguments by some Senators that the children of same-sex couples were worse off than those raised by heterosexual couples.
"I do not regret that our daughter has Sophie and I as parents," Senator Wong said.
"I do regret that she lives in a world where some will tell her that her family is not normal. I regret that even in this chamber, elected representatives denigrate the worth of her family. I will not rest in the face of such prejudice. I want for her, for all of us, an Australia which is inclusive and respectful, and this is why this campaign will not end here."
Openly gay Liberal Senator Dean Smith spoke against the bill, saying opinion in the gay community was divided on the issue. "By not agreeing to same sex marriage, I'm not choosing to endorse discrimination against my fellow gay and lesbian Australians, or to be disrespectful to their domestic relationships... instead for me, it's an honest acknowledgement of the special and unique characteristics of the union described as marriage," he said.
While nine Greens senators and at least 20 Labor senators are expected to vote for same-sex marriage in the Senate the bill is unlikely to receive the 39 votes it would need to pass the upper house.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/nationa ... .html#ixzz26vRN3XA5