Australian same-sex couples who had little choice but to get married overseas because of small obstacles like institutionalised homophobia and archaic legislation can finally have their marital status recognised under NSW law. About fucking time too.
Independent Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, yesterday afternoon won government support for his Relationships Register Amendment (Recognition of Same-Sex and Gender-Diverse Relationships) Bill, which means that when the opportunity presents itself, same-sex couples can declare themselves legally married in an official context.
According to Greenwich [via Same Same]:
“This change acknowledges that a growing number of NSW citizens must travel overseas to marry the person they love, while waiting for the Federal Government to legislate for marriage equality.The NSW Relationship Register will now ensure same-sex marriages conducted overseas will receive a level of protection and recognition in NSW, and I thank the Attorney-General for working with me towards this outcome.The inaction of federal governments, past and present, on marriage equality remains an embarrassing blight on our nation’s reputation for fairness, freedom and equality.”
Should you still need further convincing – what’s up with that? – here’s Tom Ballard making a logic-based argument in favour of the kind of same-sex marriage reform we now need to see on a federal level.
Photo: Torsten Blackwood via Getty
