Bishop Backs Gay Marriage

Right Rev. Nick Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury has offered his support to gay marriage and gay couples, saying that gay marriage, "embodies a commitment to be faithful, loving, and lifelong. These are virtues which the Church of England wants to see maximised in society."

On Saturday, same-sex marriage became legal in Great Britain. Gay and lesbian couples across England and Wales were wed, to joyful acclaim from family, friends and the general public.

Although the Bishop was forthright in his comments, the Church of England is divided by the question of marriage equality. The Church's formal line is that Anglican clergy are not to marry partners of the same sex, despite heterosexual clergy being allowed to marry.

Bishop of Salisbury, Nick Holtam - Photograph: London News Pictures/Rex

Marriage Equality for Scotland

UK Dept for Culture, Media and Sport

Scotland has become the 17th country to legalize same-sex marriage. With a vote of 105 to 18, Parliament was overwhelmingly in favour of the change.

The new law should come in to effect later this year. Religious organisations which opposed the move to marriage equality will not be made to celebrate same-sex weddings on their premises.

A government consultation prior to the passing of the new bill resulted in over 77,000 responses - a record number of responses that indicates the huge level of public interest in this issue.

Read more about Scotland's historic decision here.

Former US President official witness at same-sex wedding

Former U.S. President, George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, were official witnesses at the recent wedding of friends, Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen.

On Sept. 21, Clement and Thorgalsen, partners for 12 years, were married in front of family and friends in a small private ceremony in Maine. George Bush Snr., together with Mrs Bush (presumably), signed the official marriage licence papers.

Maine is one of only 13 U.S states in which gay marriage is legal. For a same-sex marriage to be legal in Maine, the couple must marry within 90 days of obtaining a marriage licence from a local Government office. The ceremony must be witnessed by two people in addition to the officiant. The licence is then signed by the couple, the officiant and the witnesses and returned to the town clerk within 7 days of the ceremony.

Thorgalsen posted to her Facebook page a photograph of Mr Bush Snr. signing the licence.

Helen Thorgalsen via Facebook

NZ sings while France riots

 

New Zealand sings while France riots ... what is it in the national psyche that makes one nation celebrate the awarding of equal marriage rights to its gay citizens while another nation violently riots? Incompréhensible!

Marriage equality videos

Came across this blog post a few days back, 'The ten best marriage equality videos from around the world'.

Videos from Ireland, Australia, Canada, and the US speak eloquently about love, commitment, relationship, and family. Whether you have an opinion on this topic or not, why not take a few minutes to view one or two (or all!) of the videos. It surely can't hurt.

Source - ABC News website

Same sex marriage in Tas & NZ?

It's looking increasingly likely that both Tasmania & New Zealand will soon be legislating in favour of same-sex marriage.

In NZ, the Marriage Equality Bill passed its first reading in Parliament by 80 votes to 40. Prime Minister John Keys expects debate to be "quite ferocious" despite the early, easy win. The Bill has now been sent to a select committee to take public submissions

In Tasmania, the Same-Sex Marriage Bill, 2012 has successfully passed its first major challenge, winning passage through the Lower House on a vote of 13 to 11. With Parliament in recess for 3 weeks, the Bill must wait to be put to a vote in the Upper House. While not assured of safe passage through the Upper House, Premier Lara Giddings and other supporters are hopeful that it will pass.

And, in Northern Ireland the Alliance Party's ruling council has spoken out in favour of allowing same-sex civil marriage, while in Scotland, robust discussion on this same topic has been occurring over the past 6 months. And with Scotland's Parliament resuming after the summer break, and with a marriage equality bill on the table, it looks increasingly likely that Scotland will be the UK forerunner in legislating for same-sex marriage.

France is also joining the same-sex marriage party, where it's Parliament will soon be considering a marriage equality bill to be introduced by the Prime Minister & supported by the President.

by Michael Daddino from Flickr Creative Commons

Marriage Equality or Civil Unions?

Malcolm Turnbull gave an impassioned speech at Southern Cross University on the 6th July, ostensibly in support of marriage equality. However, when it came to the crunch Turnbull shied away from standing up for his beliefs and those of a significant proportion of the Australian population, instead calling on marriage equality advocates to compromise and accept Civil Unions in lieu of Marriage.

Delivering the Keynote Address at the 6th Annual Michael Kirby Lecture & Dinner, Turnbull spoke about the journey he's been on as he considers the question of marriage equality for same-sex couples. He said, "As I have reflected on this question of 'marriage equality' I have found the arguments against gay marriage less and less convincing."

Turnbull is to be commended for reflecting on this issue and being open to the journey; however, as a politician it's his moral obligation to do so. As a representative of the people, his job is to represent the views of his constituents.

Turnbull is also to be commended for having the courage to speak publicly about his journey, sharing the fruits of his reflections with all of us. In doing so, he has come in for both praise and criticism from the media and members of the public. Rodney Croome, honorary lecturer in Sociology at the University of Tasmania and campaign coordinator for Australian Marriage Equality, applauds the case that Turnbull makes for marriage equality but considers Turnbull's conclusion to be 'appalling'.

Read an edited extract from Turnbull's speech here.

Read Rodney Croome's response here.

In reading these differing views you also can be a part of the journey.

Another celebratory story

Britain's civil partnership law, which came into effect in December 2005, has, in its first year of operation, enabled more than 16,000 gay & lesbian couples to effectively marry.

That's more than 16,000 couples who have pledged their love and commitment to each other - couples who, prior to the legislation's introduction, were legally regarded as second-class citizens.

One day, hopefully, Australia will join the ranks of enlightened countries.

1000 Civil Unions – milestone achieved in NZ

A celebratory story from New Zealand - 1000 Civil Unions have been registered in that country since the introduction of the Civil Union Act on 26th April 2005.