Thursday, June 17, 2004
Civil unions will make marriage meaningless
The first of the two Civil Union Bills has been released (unfortunately, the text is not available online anywhere at the moment). They will probably have their first reading in parliament next Thursday, and although one Bill will have a conscience vote, the government expects to have the numbers to pass this stage.
Most people have not yet realised there are two Bills, because the government has carefully downplayed the second (which has gone through several name changes; in fact it is given two different names in the Civil Union Bill preamble, which shows the last-minute reshuffling going on).
The Civil Union Bill will allow any two people in a sexual relationship to register that relationship (provided they meet certain criteria, similar to those contained in the Marriage Act). It is principally designed for the benefit of same-sex couples.
The Relationships (Statutory References) Bill -- at least, that's it's latest name; it's also nicknamed the Omnibus Bill -- is the one that does the real damage. This Bill will rewrite around 160 Statutes, handing everything that belongs to marriage over to every other sexual relationship.
So, apart from the fact that the word "marriage" will still refer only to a man and a woman, there will be no other legal difference whatsoever between a marriage and a civil union. It is same-sex marriage by any other name.
A longer article pointing out what's going on can be found here.
The government is handing everything that belongs to marriage over to every other sexual relationship.
With the Budget, this socialist government gave away my money. Now, the government wants to give away my social identity.
The first of the two Civil Union Bills has been released (unfortunately, the text is not available online anywhere at the moment). They will probably have their first reading in parliament next Thursday, and although one Bill will have a conscience vote, the government expects to have the numbers to pass this stage.
Most people have not yet realised there are two Bills, because the government has carefully downplayed the second (which has gone through several name changes; in fact it is given two different names in the Civil Union Bill preamble, which shows the last-minute reshuffling going on).
The Civil Union Bill will allow any two people in a sexual relationship to register that relationship (provided they meet certain criteria, similar to those contained in the Marriage Act). It is principally designed for the benefit of same-sex couples.
The Relationships (Statutory References) Bill -- at least, that's it's latest name; it's also nicknamed the Omnibus Bill -- is the one that does the real damage. This Bill will rewrite around 160 Statutes, handing everything that belongs to marriage over to every other sexual relationship.
So, apart from the fact that the word "marriage" will still refer only to a man and a woman, there will be no other legal difference whatsoever between a marriage and a civil union. It is same-sex marriage by any other name.
A longer article pointing out what's going on can be found here.
The government is handing everything that belongs to marriage over to every other sexual relationship.
With the Budget, this socialist government gave away my money. Now, the government wants to give away my social identity.
