"Labor won't be shifting on gay marriage: Rudd"

[Strong Atheist]

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25851829-421,00.html

Seperate but equal?

x(

[imdjh]

1. not surprised knr

[Strong Atheist]

4. You know what is VERY surprising?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=214&topic_id=214550&mesg_id=214550

[mitchtv]

2. sounds like the same crap

we hear here

[Strong Atheist]

3. Yep. nt.

[anakie]

5. this mornings papers

and peaceful protests. 60 percent of Aussies support gay marriage and still they have to pander the bigoted minority.


Peace

LABOR'S national conference has voted for national recognition of same-sex unions but stopped short of lifting a ban on gay marriage.
The national Labor conference voted to develop a system for the registration and recognition of same-sex relationships, after gay rights advocates failed to gather enough numbers for a resolution to legalise gay marriage.

On Saturday about 150 gay, lesbian and transgender couples "tied the knot" in the winter sunshine at Sydney's Darling Harbour on Saturday afternoon. They were joined by more than 1,500 of their closest friends.

Led by Pastor Karl Hand, from the Metropolitan Community Church, they made commitments to their beloved.

Outside the venue where the ALP was holding its national conference, members of the gay, lesbian, transgender and intersex communities called for the right to get legally married.

Just minutes earlier, Labor delegates had agreed to a resolution that removed the words "between a man and woman" when identifying what marriage was

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25866655-601,00.html

[readmoreoften]

6. A far cry from the gay positive labor unions of the 30s and 40s.

like the 20000 strong Marine Cooks and Stewards Union. They had a sign in their union hall that read: RACE BAITING, QUEER BAITING, AND RED BAITING IS ANTI-UNION.

We're still feeling the effects of the McCarthy Era.

[foreigncorrespondent]

7. I was shocked...

...when I read this in The Age the other day. Only because I didn't even realize it had come up again in Parliament (raising a family now, I have been out of the loop on a lot of things). Regardless of my being out of the loop I shot off a letter to the paper then and there, and found it has been in todays paper:

Recognition due for my kind of family

WHEN a country such as Albania proposes a law allowing same-sex marriages, I have to ask what is wrong with Australia? How can any government tell its people whose relationship is right and worthy of marriage rights, and whose is wrong and not worthy of those same rights?

I do not expect Australia to have equality for all in my lifetime; especially considering Aborigines weren’t even included in the Australian census until 1971. Aborigines are still frowned upon by many communities across Australia, for being nothing more than black-skinned. In the same way, same-sex couples are frowned upon for daring to hold hands or kiss in public, let alone daring to a raise a family of their own.

Improvements of the lots of citizens who are oppressed in their own country must begin with the government making things right for all. Until it does, nothing will change.

Kevin Rudd might have the power to prevent me legally marrying the woman I love more than life, but he will never have the power to take her from me. We are a family, recognized by the government or not.