News, analysis and fact-checking of anti-gay rhetoric
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The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.The Australian Marriage Waltz
Timothy Kincaid
December 2nd, 2009
Yesterday I told you of the complicated steps, kicks and strides in the Argentine Marriage Tango. Now it appears that Australia, with its love of ballroom dance, has a marriage waltz all of its own.
I feel a bit like a celebrity guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance. I don’t know the steps or what comes next but I am caught up it the drama of the swirling movement and will wing my explanation.
The dance has a basic premise: some local governments, particularly that of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), wish to grant to their gay constituents marriage rights as similar to that of their straight constituents as possible. However, federal officials are determined to keep sharp distinctions between the orientations and to minimize and diminish same-sex couples and their relationships.
Most of the back-and-forth has less to do with rights or privileges (though that is important) and more to do with status, social approval, and ceremony. Conservatives seem to be taking the position that you can be a couple, but that is nothing to celebrate.
In November the ACT voted for the third time to pass a bill that allowed for legally binding ceremonies between same sex couples. And for the third time the federal government vowed to veto it. They declared that ceremonies cannot be allowed but instead a registry should be used, just like for fishing licenses or building permits. Of course the federal government hasn’t actually enacted such a registry, but they are quite determined to block any I Do’s or Til Death Do Us Part’s until they do.
But, in the meantime, one couple of 20 years, Warren McGaw and Chris Rumble, exchanged vows in the rose gardens of the Old Parliament House in Canberra.
The dance is more confusing in that it seems to involve uncertain partners. Greens nationwide support marriage, while Labor in Victoria Tasmania, and the ACT are battling against the Labor leadership over the issue. The Greens, though a minority in the federal government, in June introduced a bill in support of marriage itself.
“The Greens will be pursuing passage of the bill when parliament resumes in the New Year,” Hanson-Young said.
“The Australian public wants to debate this issue. They responded to the Senate inquiry into the bill in record numbers and latest polling shows 60 per cent support for equal marriage.
“We urge the Prime Minister to bring this debate on, and to allow his party a conscience vote.”
When the bill was rejected by the Senate last Friday led to protest in the street.
Australian Marriage Equality spokesman Alex Greenwich said strong attendances by more than 2,000 people at rallies in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, ACT, Adelaide and Lismore on Saturday to launch a national year of action showed positive community support.
But lets circle back to civil unions in the ACT. The Commonwealth seems to have found a compromise.
The Commonwealth’s proposed amendment would create an additional step in the process, requiring couples who choose to have a ceremony to first notify the registrar-general of the ACT Office of Regulatory Services with at least five days’ notice of their intention to hold a ceremony.
The union will be legally created by the couple’s declaration in front of a legally-authorised celebrant. Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland told Chief Minister Jon Stanhope earlier this week that the Commonwealth would overturn the recently-passed laws unless the ACT agreed to its amendments.
”This is an important reform,” Mr Corbell said yesterday.
”This locks in the role of ceremonies for same-sex couples and maintains the legal effect, and it also maintains the role for a legally-authorised official to conduct those ceremonies.”
However, so far this isn’t pleasing anti-gays…
Jim Wallace from the Australian Christian Lobby says that mimics marriage and the Rudd Labor Government has betrayed Christians who voted for it.
“Once you cross this line you’ve opened the door to completely devaluing marriage,” he said.
“This will lead to other ways of mimicking it. We’ll have demands for polygamists marriages.”
…or the Greens.
Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury says he is yet to be convinced.
“It’s so much splitting hairs that people are saying why don’t we stick with the original bill – the original bill that the Greens put up is a good one,” he said.
He says there is no justification to change the laws.
“At this stage we’re not inclined to accept these amendments because there is no clear reason why we need to make them.
“Nobody has articulated what the problem is with the legislation, they’ve just said here’s a fix that we need for it.
“Our view is if it’s not broken you don’t need to fix it.”
The Greens appear to be taking a risk. If they refuse the administrative change, will the government dare veto the whole thing. If at the end of the dance they fling themselves backwards, will Rudd catch them or dare to let them hit the floor?
Australian Capital enacts civil unions, again
Timothy Kincaid
November 11th, 2009
In September we reported that the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was prepared to yet again stand up to federal lawmakers in defense of the territory’s gay citizens.
Twice before the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has voted for local legally-binding ceremonies of civil unions and twice before the federal government has reversed their decision.
So, yet again, they are passing legislation.
And now they have done so (Herald Sun)
AN ACT Greens Bill to legalise civil ceremonies between same sex couples has been passed by the Territory’s Parliament.
The Bill allows gay and lesbian couples to create their civil partnerships through a legally-binding ceremony before friends and family.
“This legislation is another step along the road to full equality for same sex couples in Australia, and we are delighted that the assembly has passed it today,” ACT Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury, who drafted the Bill, said in a statement.
Although a much welcome confirmation of support, this bill may be vetoed by the federal government. Yet it is such efforts, though they may appear futile, that ultimately win equality.
Every time that an anti-gay politician has to explain why the will of the local constituents must be thwarted in order deny equality to part of the population, the less credible such claims appear. And every time that a federal government is seen as pressing down on local control, the less righteous their cause can seem.
In time, even those disinclined towards civil equality can tire of making claims that they know in their heart are baseless and cruel. And then we win.
Australian Senate Refuses to Oppose Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill
Timothy Kincaid
November 6th, 2009
From SXnews:
[South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young] moved that the Senate should “[call] on the Government to actively encourage the Ugandan Government to withdraw its Anti-Homosexuality Bill and respect the human rights of same-sex attracted people.”
…
The motion was rejected.
Click here to see BTB’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.
Australia’s Capital to Vote For Civil Unions… Again
Timothy Kincaid
September 21st, 2009
Like the United States, Australia’s federal legislators meet to decide laws within a community far more pro-gay than they are. Twice before the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has voted for local legally-binding ceremonies of civil unions and twice before the federal government has reversed their decision.
So, yet again, they are passing legislation. (Sydney Morning Herald)
The ACT Legislative Assembly is set to pass laws which will allow for legally-binding “civil union” ceremonies for same-sex couples.
The ACT Greens have draft laws on the table which would allow the ceremonies to take place.
On Monday, ACT Labor – which leads the minority government – voted unanimously to support the bill in a caucus meeting. That means the bill will pass the Assembly easily.
Although ACT Labor is supportive of recognition of same-sex couples on par with heterosexuals, the national party is committed to minimal recognition, supporting only specific rights shared by unmarried de facto partners and perhaps a registry – which does not allow for ceremony or provide equality – but are dragging their feet on even that.
It is unlikely that the ACT will be allowed to treat its gay citizens with dignity. But such efforts on the part of the local government serve well to illustrate hypocrisies and lack of commitment and continue pressure on those within Labor who like to envision themselves as champions of the disenfranchised.
Australia Provides Couple Rights
Timothy Kincaid
November 24th, 2008
We told you in April about efforts by the Australian government to enact some protections for same-sex couples. It now appears that it has done so.
Today the Senate passed changes to a number of laws that would allow same-sex couples the same rights as de-facto couples. Additionally, they revised superannuation laws which allow couples to leave entitlements their partner or children.
“Today is an historic day,” said NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby spokesperson Peter Johnson yesterday. “The Australian Senate has finally and firmly given its nod to equality for our relationships and families. Our partners and our children can look forward to equality in almost all areas of federal law, from taxation to health and aged care, from immigration to family law.
The legislation must now be approved by the lower house, which is considered a formality. The Labor government, however, still remains strongly opposed to marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples or other forms of recognition that include a ceremony.
More Nonsensical Claims in Australian Red Cross Tribunal
Timothy Kincaid
August 20th, 2008
We told you yesterday of Doctor Brenton Wylie, an expert witness for the Red Cross appearing before the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal to explain why gay men are excluded from giving blood. Dr. Wylie presented some statistics that are mathmatically ludicrous.
Now the Red Cross runs the risk of sounding like a bunch of extremist homophobes with little to no connection to reality.
US professor Dr Paul Holland, a former blood source executive testifying for the Red Cross, claimed even digital penetration of the nose or ear would justify the lifetime ban his country imposes on gay men.
“That would usually be sufficient to exchange fluid and qualify as sex,” Dr Holland told the Tribunal. When asked if that included gay men who had done nothing more than kissing, Holland replied, “Yes, sir, because they increase their chance of transmitting an infection such as HIV.”
Really, Dr. Holland?
In theory prolonged kissing of a rough nature could result in bleeding which could in the right circumstances enter the bloodstream of an uninfected person through a cut in the mouth. To date I believe the CDC lists a grand total of one person (a heterosexual woman) for whom this may have been a possible cause of transmission.
But is there a sane person out there who thinks that kissing is a significant risk for HIV transmission? And the logic behind excluding gay men who kiss from blood donation based on the example of this heterosexual woman evades me.
As for a “wet willie“, well that’s just stupid.
But Holland’s later comments help give context to his claims.
The Red Cross’ lawyer also took a page out of the anti-gay Christian lobby’s strategy stating gay male monogamy was a myth.
The Tribunal has heard a flurry of statistics from the Red Cross based on a New Zealand focus group of 11 couples that appeared to show gay men have 10 times as many partners as heterosexual men.
In a manner worthy of Paul Cameron, the focus group that Holland quoted explicitly excluded men who practice safe sex in monogamous relationships.
It seems that in an effort to shore up their policy, the Red Cross in Australia has signed on a bunch of anti-gay loons unafraid to make the most bizarre and irrational of claims. And that is unfortunate.
All of us rely on the safety of the blood bank in our country. And if there are legitimate reasons based on sound science for excluding all gay men, they should be given careful consideration and not be tainted by extremist anti-gay nonsense.
And if there are other areas of concern that need immediate attention which are being ignored or given less emphasis – such as the growing epidemic in the Asia Pacific region or the highly increased mortality resulting from old blood – then the health of all Australians or visitors is being threatened just to accomodate the outmoded homophobic presumptions and attitudes of those in charge.
Australian Expert’s Astonishing Claims About Gay Blood Donors
Timothy Kincaid
August 19th, 2008
When Michael Cain was denied the ability to donate blood to Australia’s supply because he had been in a same-sex relationship, he decided to sue. He is claiming that standards should rely upon whether the person engages in unsafe sex practices rather than on their orientation.
Arguing in opposition was Doctor Brenton Wiley
Doctor Brenton Wiley told Hobart’s anti-discrimination tribunal today that the incidence of HIV infection among gay men is more than 1,000 times higher than regular donors.
Well, it would seem that Dr. Wiley is either very poorly informed about the subject for which he is an expert witness or he cannot do simple math.
According to Avert, there were about 15,670 people living with HIV in Australia at the end of 2006, or about 0.078% of the population. If HIV infection were 1,000 higher it would mean that 79% of gay men in Australia have HIV.
Really, Dr. Wiley?
Well we also know that as of 2006 there were roughly 10,650 gay men living with HIV. If Dr. Wiley’s claims were true, Australia would have a total gay male population of 13,500.
Anyone who has seen the hundreds of thousands of revelers at Sydney’s Gay Pride parade alone would have to scoff at Dr. Wiley’s magical math.
The case is before Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal and UKgaynews reports
only 95 men who have sex with men in Tasmania have HIV, an estimated 0.5% of that group.
Tasmanian Introduces Marriage Bill
Timothy Kincaid
June 20th, 2008
In the Australian state of Tasmania, Green Party member Nick Mckim will introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage.
“This is about tolerance and it’s about respect and those are values that I believe most Tasmanians would share and if we’re fair dinkum about removing discrimination in this state we should give all Tasmanians access to the fundamental institutions of our society, including marriage,” he said.
This should come up against fierce opposition from the national government. The Rudd government favors a registry (similar to what Tasmania currently has) and wants consistency throughout the nation.
Marriage Rights Around the World
Timothy Kincaid
May 15th, 2008
The following countries offer some form of recognition to same-sex couples:
Marriage
Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, United States (Massachusetts, California)
Civil Unions
New Zealand, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Argentina (Buenos Aires, Rio Negro), Mexico (Coahuila), Uruguay, United States (Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey)
Registered Partnership or Domestic Partnership
Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Finland, Luxembourg, , Slovenia, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Italy (City of Padua), Switzerland, Hungary, Australia (Tasmania), United States (Maine, Washington, Oregon)
Other Methods of Limited Recognition
France (PACS), Germany (Life Partnership), Croatia (Law of Same-Sex Relationships), Andorra (Stable Union of a Couple), Mexico (Mexico City – PACS), Colombia (Common-law marriage inheritance rights), Israel (Limited recognition of foreign legal arrangements), United States (Hawaii – Reciprocal Benefits; New York – recognition of out-of-state legal marriages)
Although recognition is in a rapid state of change, this is my best understanding of the current rights provided. Several nations are in the process of adding or revising recognition.
COMMENTS (9) | LINK
Australia Introduces Rights for Gay Couples
Timothy Kincaid
April 29th, 2008
When the Labor Party came to power in Australia last year gay citizens expected them to live up to campaign promises made to enact recognition of same-sex couples. Until recently, they saw little progress.
The efforts of the Australian Capital Territory to enact civil unions were met by aggressive hostility by the federal government. The biggest objection was that the ACT proposed civil unions would allow a ceremony – something viewed as too similar to marriage.
Now, however, it appears that the Rudd government is willing to live up to its promise for limited rights, similar to those of de-facto couples and will effect about 100 areas of law. (Sydney Morning Herald)
The federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, will announce today that the necessary legislation will be introduced when Parliament resumes next month for the winter sittings.
The measures do not amount to gay marriage; they afford gay couples the same treatment as heterosexual de facto couples in areas such as tax, superannuation sharing and social security.
Although the article does not clarify the methods by which the couples would be determined, it will likely be by registered partnership in a method similar to that employed by Tazmania.
Aussie Ex-Gay Humor
Timothy Kincaid
April 4th, 2008
Peterson Toscano has competition in Australia.
Dangerous Mercies
Jim Burroway
March 22nd, 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald has published the results of an investigation into the secretive Mercy Ministries in a series of articles this past week. Mercy Ministries is connected with the controversial Hillsong Church, Australia’s largest pentecostal mega-church with more than 25 individual churches. Mercy Ministries in Australia is a branch of the Nashville-based program by the same name.
Mercy Ministries’ programs are intended to help young women between the ages of 16 and 28 with a number of psychological issues, including “lesbianism.” Their web site says the group offers these women support from “psychologists, general practitioners, dietitians, social workers and career guidance addressing each of the young women’s individual issues.”
But the program has drawn fire for its secretive and unorthodox ways. According to the Sydney Morning Herald investigation:
Three former ministry residents have blown the whistle on the program, claiming they were independent young women when they entered, but came out broken and suicidal, believing – as ministry staff had told them – that they were possessed by demons and that Satan controlled them.
These women have since been forced to undergo years of intense psychological and psychiatric care to overcome their treatment at the ministry.
Mercy Ministries claims to help young women deal with “life-controlling issues” — many of them legitimate psychological problems including bipolar disorders, addiction, depression, anorexia and self-harm. It also includes a “condition” that is not a recognized disorder — homosexuality:
…Mercy Ministries is keen to ensure there is no lesbianism under its roof. It issues “separation contracts” to young women who make friends with each other and prevents any form of physical contact between residents.
“While I was there, we received much teaching on the evils of gay and lesbian lifestyles,” said Naomi Johnson, who spent nine months in the ministry’s Sydney house.
As someone with no issues about her sexuality, she was perplexed by the ministry’s continuing focus on the issue.
“In particular, there was an ongoing teaching video series by Sy Rogers an ‘ex-gay’ – now reformed – married Christian,” she said.
Mercy Ministries’ application form used to ask prospective applicants if they had been involved with lesbianism next to a question about prostitution:
Another former resident, who did not wish to be identified, said: “Girls were asked on the application form, as well as in a telephone interview, if they have ever had lesbian or bisexual relationships. They asked if I had been involved in drug abuse, witchcraft, or lesbianism. They bunched them in together like that.”
Mercy Ministries, much like Memphis-based Love In Action, operate a residential pseudo-psychological program without the benefit of oversight which comes with regulation. And another similarity to Love In Action is Mercy Ministries’ lengthy and bizarre rules which clients are required to follow. Some of those rules stem from Mercy Ministries’ obsession with homosexuality: No physical contact, no supportive hugging, no shoulder to cry on. The residential program housed three women to a bedroom, but they were not allowed to change clothes if another person was in the room.
But the bizarre rules didn’t end there. Clients were not allowed contact with their families. They weren’t allowed to see their doctors by themselves. A Mercy Ministries staff member had to be in the room with the doctor and patient at all times — which is a gross violation of the Australian Medical Association’s patient-client confidentiality standards. Clients even required specific permission to go to the bathroom or brush their teeth. One former client was denied her asthma medication:
Every time I had an asthma attack they told me to stop acting … I was punished, I had to do an assignment about why God believes that lying is wrong.”
I was told, ‘You still have demons to battle with. Satan still has a huge control over your life. That is when the exorcism and the prayers over my life started.”
One former client described the oppressive rules this way:
“One major issue that I struggled with throughout the duration of my Mercy stay was complete submission; being told how to dress, when to sleep, when to shower, when to wash your clothes, when to eat, how much to eat, when to change your sheets, what music you were allowed to listen to, what shops you could and couldn’t go into.”
The slightest infraction of the rules could mean instant expulsion — a very dangerous move given the psychiatric state of some of the clients and the overly depended condition the rules placed them in:
Naomi Johnson, Rhiannon Canham-Wright and Megan Smith (Megan asked to use an assumed name) went into Mercy Ministries independent young women, and came out broken and suicidal, believing, as Mercy staff had told them repeatedly, that they were possessed by demons and that Satan controlled them.
Only careful psychological and psychiatric care over several years brought them back from the edge.
Naomi Johnson entered Mercy Ministries for anorexia and self-harm. Before she entered the program, she was functioning as a full-time student and she was living independently. The effects of her sudden expulsion were particularly dramatic:
The situation came to a head when Johnson returned to the Sydney house after spending Christmas with her family in Perth. She was told she had been seen smoking at the airport and that she was being expelled from the program. Naomi phoned her mother in tears, and the staff informed her they were putting her on the next plane back to Perth.
“She was distraught; she was an absolute mess; her life was in danger. I could hear it, she was capable of anything, the anxiety was so extreme … she was just out of control,” Julie Johnson said. “I said to them, ‘There is no way you are going to send her back on her own, she is suicidal. You will deliver her to me at the airport when I can get a flight over’.”
Mrs. Johnson flew to Sydney to collect her daughter.
“She went into that place as a young lady and came back to us as a child. She was very confused, like she was 12 or 13. She shut herself in the bedroom and thought she was nothing but evil. Her self-esteem went down. She thought, ‘I may as well die.”‘
While some women have come forward to say they were helped by Mercy Ministries, psychologists have voiced concerns about what they describe as Mercy Ministries’ highly unconventional and “cult-like” practices:
What an organisation like this is doing is quite high risk – high risk for the young women and high risk for these [Bible college] students to be taking on these complex cases,” said Louise Newman, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Newcastle and a former director of the NSW Institute of Psychiatry.
“There is always the potential of self harm and possible suicidal behaviour.”
Placing young women with mental health issues in an isolated house with little contact with their families or qualified medical and psychiatric care could exacerbate, rather than alleviate, their symptoms, she said.
“[It sounds] very similar to the … old psychiatric facilities that were isolated, disempowering places where people very rapidly lose their sense of identity, where the focus is compliance, there are high levels of surveillance and where contact with people close to them is limited.”
The effects of that isolation and total control can be devastating:
Nine months without medical treatment, nine months without any psychiatric care, nine months of being told she was not a good enough Christian to rid herself of the “demons” that were causing her anorexia and pushing her to self-harm. After being locked away from society for so long, Naomi started to believe them. “I just felt completely hopeless. I thought if Mercy did not want to help me where do I stand now?
“They say they take in the world’s trash, so what happens when you are Mercy trash?”
Two months after she had been expelled from Mercy’s Sydney house (her crime was to smoke a cigarette) Johnson ended up in Royal Perth Hospital’s psychiatric unit. From there she started seeing a psychologist at an outpatient program two to three times a week.
“Even now, three years on, I don’t socialise widely, I don’t work full time, I don’t study full time. Even now there is still a lot of remnants hanging around from my time at Mercy.
Many former clients were told that they were forbidden to share their experiences at Mercy with the outside world. That isolation also extended to family members. Naomi Johnson’s mother recalled:
“They told me that what happens in Mercy stays in Mercy, that what happens between the staff and Naomi stays at Mercy. It is not let out to the family,” Julie Johnson said. “We were isolated, we were not involved in her progress at Mercy, we were just excluded and yet we were a family that wanted to be behind her and they wouldn’t allow us to be.”
While Mercy Ministries sought to help young women with a huge variety of problems, from bipolar disorder to suicide ideation to anorexia — and lesbianism, don’t forget that one — the proposed solutions were all the same: pre-scripted prayers and exorcisms:
“Most of the staff were current Bible studies or Bible college students, and that is it, if anything. You just cannot play around with mental illness when you do not know what you are doing. Even professionals will acknowledge that it is a huge responsibility working in that field, and that is people who have six years, eight years university study behind them.”
…Johnson had grown up in a Christian family; her belief in God was not the issue; anorexia and self harm were. “A major sticking point was when they told me I needed to receive the holy Spirit in me and speak in tongues, to raise my hands in worship songs and jump up and down on the spot in fast songs. I told them that I really didn’t understand how jumping up and down to a fast song at church was going to fix the anorexia, and yet that was a big, big sticking point, because it showed I was being resistant, cynical and holding back.”
Clients reportedly sign over months of their lives over to a program that uses exorcisms to treat mental illnesses rather than medical or psychiatric care. Residents are also required to sign over their Centrelink payments (i.e. social security, unemployment and other relief benefits) over to Mercy Ministries. This allegation has prompted the federal Minister for Human Services, Joe Ludwig, to announce that the government would launch an investigation.
Since the revelations about Mercy Ministries hit the Australian press, several corporate sponsors, including Rebel Sport and LG Electronics Australia, have cut their ties to Mercy Ministries. But Mercy’s biggest sponsor, the Gloria Jean’s Coffees chain, said it has no plans to change their sponsorship despite the allegations. Peter Irvine is on the Board of Directors of Gloria Jean’s Coffees and is a director of Mercy Ministries.
The Sydney Morning Herald Investigations:
Women ‘mistreated’ by secretive ministry — March 17, 2008.
They sought help, but got exorcism and the Bible — March 17, 2008.
Lives at risk when vulnerable patients taken in by cult-like groups — March 17, 2008.
Ethics, financial probity for review — March 18, 2008.
Why Mercy Ministries was godsent for Hillsong — March 18, 2008.
Corporates move quickly to cut ties — March 18, 2008.
The business of giving Mercy — March 18, 2008.
No mercy for transgressions — March 19, 2008.
God’s cure for gays lost in sin — March 19, 2008.
Hat tip: Mike Airhart at Truth Wins Out.
Australian State To Get Partnership Registry
Timothy Kincaid
March 12th, 2008
The Age brings us the story:
GAY and de facto couples will be able to formally register their relationships in Victoria after the Legislative Assembly last night passed historic legislation.
The bill will be passed in the upper house, with Labor, the Greens and several Liberals certain to support it.
This registry is not marriage and is significantly less significant than the civil unions legislation proposed in the Australian Capital Territory.
Australian Capital Territory to Consider Civil Unions
Timothy Kincaid
December 5th, 2007
UPDATED: See Below
The Australian Capital Territory is that area in which the federal Austrailian government is conducted. Like the District of Columbia, it has self-governance but its decisions can be overruled by federal authority.
In 2006 the ACT legislated for civil unions for gay couples. This action was overturned by the federal government. Overturning ACT decisions is not a common practice.
A new government has been voted into power, and part of their campaign was on providing some form of recognition to same-sex couples. However, the Rudd government is not in favor of marriage or of civil unions. They propose that states offer registration of couples and provide benefits similar to de-facto relationships.
The ACT government does not view relationship registers as an adequate response to either the commitment or the needs of same-sex couples. They are proposing a slightly watered down version of their previous efforts of enacting civil unions. From ABC News (not the US one)
The ACT’s Attorney-General, Simon Corbell, plans to re-introduce a Civil Partnerships Bill, which would grant legal recognition to same-sex unions. He will push the case at a meeting with the new federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, on Friday.
“I think that’s an important courtesy to extend to the Federal Government, given there has been a change of government, and the opportunity now to progress an important piece of law reform for people in the ACT,” he said.
Anti-gay factions have already voiced threats over the action. It will be interesting to see if quashing gay recognition is a priority of the new government.
UPDATE
The Age is reporting that the federal government will not override the ACT’s decision to provide civil unions.
Flirting With A Westboro Man
Jim Burroway
November 18th, 2007
Charles Firth is an Australian comedian living in the US. He appears on the ABC’s (Australian Brocasting Company) The Chaser’s War On Everything in a recurring segment called “Firth In America.” In this segment, he discovers the allure of a “Westboro Boi.”
Paul Cameron Down Under
Jim Burroway
July 8th, 2006
The bogus “research” of discredited psychologist Paul Cameron has been enormously influential in the U.S. for some twenty-five years. But it’s easy to overlook the high esteem with which he is held by those overseas are also willing to leverage his shoddy and disreputable work to bolster their anti-gay agenda.
The Sydney Star Observer reports that his dubious research has shown up in a report submitted by the Australian Christian Lobby to the New South Wales Adoption Act Review, which is considering the issue of adoption by gay and lesbian parents. Citing Cameron, the submission (PDF: 144KB/11 pages) claims that:
…a major American study arrived at these conclusions:
“children of homosexuals will;
– be more frequently subject to parental instability (of residence and sexual partners);
– have poor peer and adult relationships.
– Be more apt to become homosexual;
– be unstable (have emotional problems and difficulty forming lasting bonds) with reduced interest in natality, and;
– be sexually precosious and promiscuous.”
It’s quite a stretch of the imagination to claim that anything Paul Cameron writes consitutes “a major American study” — certainly not when considering his many run-ins with American professional societies and his own well-documented aversion to the truth When apprised of Cameron’s history, a spokesperson for the Australian Christian Lobby said he was unaware of Cameron’s history and promised to look into it.
As well he should. The Australian Christian Lobby certainly would be the first to have egg on their faces because of this, and unfortunately they probably won’t be the last. Despite the mission of prominent Christian organizations to uphold The Truth, they are too often eager to turn to one who has absolutely no regard for it.
