Monday, August 16, 2004
Two victories for marriage
The California Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous decision that in directing the county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the mayor of San Francisco had exceeded his authority. The court declared that the 4,000 gay “marriages� contracted in San Francisco are null and void.
The day after the California decision, Australia codified normative marriage. By a 39-7 vote, the Australian Senate inserted the following in the nation’s 1961 Marriage Act: “Marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.� A further provision stated that same-sex unions contracted elsewhere would not be legally recognized in Australia.
The California Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous decision that in directing the county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the mayor of San Francisco had exceeded his authority. The court declared that the 4,000 gay “marriages� contracted in San Francisco are null and void.
The day after the California decision, Australia codified normative marriage. By a 39-7 vote, the Australian Senate inserted the following in the nation’s 1961 Marriage Act: “Marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.� A further provision stated that same-sex unions contracted elsewhere would not be legally recognized in Australia.
