Subj : Re: OPINION: THE IMPORTANCE OF CIVIL UNIONS AND POLITICAL COMPROMISE
To : Major Queen
From : Vk3jed
Date : Tue Apr 28 2020 09:27 am
-=> On 04-27-20 19:05, Major Queen wrote to All <=-
MQ> There had been fleeting opportunities throughout the first decade of
MQ> the 21st century to pass Civil Unions in Australia, yet the LGBT+
MQ> community have turned them up on the basis of it not being full
MQ> equality.
The political reality was a bit more complex. In fact, we may have had
marriage equality in 2004 or 2005, had John Howard not specidicallt passed
legislation to block the possibility of the High Court rulling that same sex
marriage was legal (there was nothing in the Marriage Act to prohibit it until
2004).
So while NZ had civil unions, we went backwards.
Initially, there was interest here in civil unions, but as time was getting by
(past 2010), much of the world was already moving on and the limitations of
civil unions were becoming apparent, especially for travellers. We also had to
push past ideological influences in both major parties at various times, which
were out of step with a lot of the community's opinions of the day.
In recent decades, NZ governments have seemed more socially in tune with their
constituents than their Australian counterparts.
... After Tuesday, even the calender says WTF.
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