Overview
Same-sex marriage is a highly controversial topic of discussion spreading from communities to parliaments and governments, and has become increasingly recognised all around the world over the past few years. Since 2001, many countries have passed bills to legalise same sex unions and provide them with equal rights, and then years later have fully legalised gay marriage, the first being The Netherlands (2001), however Australia is not one of those countries. Gay marriage and obtaining equal rights for same-sex couples has been drifting around the Australian parliament for years, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (2007-2010, 2013) promising action within 100 days of the election date if re-elected in 2013, however the Liberal Party won the election and Tony Abbott became Prime Minister.
Despite Tony Abbott’s sister Christine Forster being in a engaged to her partner Miss Virginia Edwards, strongly opinionated and exceptionally religious Mr Abbott still opposes same-sex marriage and has no intention of legalising anything same-sex related. Despite her brother’s obstinacy, Ms Forster has a positive …show more content…
There are many people who support gay marriage and equality, however there are also many who oppose it. It all comes down to personal opinion, and opinions can differ depending on factors such as religion, age and upbringing. Citizens are involved in the sense that ultimately they have to power to make things happen. If the decision comes down to popular public vote as it did in Ireland (2015, refer to Figure 3), then ultimately the citizens have the power to legalise marriage equality. All citizens over 18 years of age are required to vote for their preferred party, which also has a large impact on the decision, as generally the Labor Party leader (previously Kevin Rudd, currently Bill Shorten) supports same-sex marriage and the Liberal Party leader (Tony Abbott) opposes
Same-sex marriage is a highly controversial topic of discussion spreading from communities to parliaments and governments, and has become increasingly recognised all around the world over the past few years. Since 2001, many countries have passed bills to legalise same sex unions and provide them with equal rights, and then years later have fully legalised gay marriage, the first being The Netherlands (2001), however Australia is not one of those countries. Gay marriage and obtaining equal rights for same-sex couples has been drifting around the Australian parliament for years, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (2007-2010, 2013) promising action within 100 days of the election date if re-elected in 2013, however the Liberal Party won the election and Tony Abbott became Prime Minister.
Despite Tony Abbott’s sister Christine Forster being in a engaged to her partner Miss Virginia Edwards, strongly opinionated and exceptionally religious Mr Abbott still opposes same-sex marriage and has no intention of legalising anything same-sex related. Despite her brother’s obstinacy, Ms Forster has a positive …show more content…
There are many people who support gay marriage and equality, however there are also many who oppose it. It all comes down to personal opinion, and opinions can differ depending on factors such as religion, age and upbringing. Citizens are involved in the sense that ultimately they have to power to make things happen. If the decision comes down to popular public vote as it did in Ireland (2015, refer to Figure 3), then ultimately the citizens have the power to legalise marriage equality. All citizens over 18 years of age are required to vote for their preferred party, which also has a large impact on the decision, as generally the Labor Party leader (previously Kevin Rudd, currently Bill Shorten) supports same-sex marriage and the Liberal Party leader (Tony Abbott) opposes