Same Sex Marriages in Australia Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Same Sex Marriages in Australia. Answer: Homosexuality refers to a romantic or sexual relationship or attraction between persons of same sex. It is a category of sexual orientation which means a continuing behavior of attraction of sexual or romantic nature towards a certain gender. Sexual orientation is broadly categorized into heterosexuals (persons attracted to persons of opposite gender), homosexuals (persons attracted to persons of same gender) and bisexuals (persons attracted to both the genders simultaneously). Homosexuals include gays (men attracted to men) and lesbians (women attracted to women). These forms of orientation and relationships were not recognized in ancient times and are still not given recognition in many countries till date. Same sex marriages have been recently given legal recognition in many countries like Argentina, France, United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand and most recently in Uruguay in 2017. It is still not recognized in Australia but a huge support is given to such marriages . According to the federallaw of Australia each state and territory is empowered to make laws regarding same sex relationships still their relationship is considered as de-facto relationship. Themarriage law of Australia expressly excludes to give recognition to any form of union other than that of a man and a woman (Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) s 46). Till date almost twenty two Bills related to same sex marriages have been presented before the Parliament of Australia but not a single Bill out of them has been passed (McKeown 2017). The Australian Capital Territory gave recognition to same sex marriages by passing a Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act, 2013 in December 2013 which was later struck down by the High Court for the reason that it was in contravention of section 46(1) of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth). According to a survey conducted by Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA) for evaluating the support of different groups of persons of Australian society for same sex marriages (Smyth 2017) it has been observed that the rate of support for same sex couples to have equal rights with heterosexual couples has considerably increased since 2005 and also the percentage of people who agree that equal rights with heterosexual couples shall be given to the same sex couples has also increased to a great extent. The category of people who are in support of the equal rights of same sex couples includes women, homosexuals, young people, non- religious people, persons of high- income group and persons living in major cities (Perales Campbell, 2017). A recent voting has been conducted in Australia as an initiative of the coalition government of Malcom Turnbull to know the view of general public regarding the validation of same sex marriages in Australia as the issue of same sex marriage was the major topic of discussion during 2016 elections (Westcott 2017). According to a report of news.com there is a need for change in Marriage laws of Australia to legalize the same sex marriages. The legalization of homosexual marriages will not interfere with the rights of religious marriages which are different from legal marriages whereby the religious leaders will still hold the right to refuse to marry homosexual couples. The homosexual marriages are not connected to religious rites rather it is a custom which is as old as the tribal groups of Britain. A number of religious institutions are concerned that if homosexual marriages are given recognition they will be compelled to perform against their religious beliefs but these institutions are given privilege to discriminate persons on the grounds of gender, LGBT status, relationship status or pregnancy which gives them right to refuse to marry homosexual couples. As the Marriage Act of Australia does not gives legal recognition to the same sex marriages, it also does not recognizes any same sex marriage taken place outside Australia. Therefore, the homosexual couples who get married outside Australia in a country of which they are not the citizen, cannot get divorced after returning to Australia, neither do they can get divorced in the country in which they got married as they are not a citizen of that country. This the couple gets jammed into a legal midpoint. Further according to the FamilyLaw Act, if a married heterosexual woman becomes pregnant by having access to IVF, foster or adoption facility with the consent of her husband they become legal parent of the child but homosexual parents are required to prove their de facto relationship at the time of taking the procedure. Marriage gives legal status to heterosexual parents which is not available to homosexual parents until they are lawfully married. All married parents and even the non- biological parents have legal parental rights over their children. Since homosexual couples are already raising families allowing them to marry would only strengthen legal rights. In the case of same sex couples, on the death of one of the spouse, the rights of being legally married will sustain which are not available to the de facto couples. The heterosexual de facto couples of Australia face the same conditions as the homosexual couples do but they have right to marry which the latter do not have. Legalizing the same sex marriages will also give property rights to their children as marriage gives legal status to the children from the marriage. Further the legalizing will also give rights in the property of the spouse in case of the death of either of them. On the other hand, legalizing of the same sex marriages has some disadvantages. One of such disadvantage is the possibility of emergence of sexual experimentation especially in the younger generation. These acts of carnal experimentation will give bring complexities, rise in sexual diseases, etc. Further it would also complicate the courts oflaw to decide and make bifurcation regarding the rights and liabilities of the parties in cases of dispute arising from the same- sex marriages. Younger generation of homosexuals will be prone to major risk of sexual and mental health concerns. As per certain researches that have been conducted in countries that have already legalized homosexual marriages, it was found that the young homosexuals are experiencing social discrimination for their orientation which is expected to increase in case the homosexual marriages are not given legal recognition. It has been seen in the countries where homosexual marriages has been legalized that no mental health problems arise in those groups of homosexuals (The Conversation 2017). Therefore it may be summarized that in the recent voting that took place in Australia regarding the legalizing of the same sex couples shows that majority of the public is in its support. However, certain sections of the society are still not in the support a large number of people want the homosexuals to get rights under the marriage law. Marriage does not have its place to any religious group even if they have right to perform it. Customs change, and few customs have changed as much as the custom of marriage. With regard to the dispute that marriage is for the reproduction of children, this does not stand up to inspection. A number of mature couples marry despite the fact that they are unable to procreate or reproduce children. Younger couples are not obligated to show their productiveness before getting married. If the marriage laws are regarding the procreation of children, then participants should ask the newly married couples to make a pledge to endeavor to produce children. Participants are already obligated to make the statement that according to the Australian law marriages are a union of man and woman and not of others and it should be added that it is also for the purpose procreating children. This will be highly criticized by many couples who are unable to procreate children or do not want to have one. This should not stop them from marrying. By banning homosexual marriages, there will be a adverse effect on the lives of homosexual people. This means that banning homosexual marriages would restrain the religious autonomy of homosexual people. Either it can be believed that homosexual marriages are a legitimate practice or not. A large number of Australians believe that homosexual marriages is neither fundamentally destructive nor immoral. The practice of homosexuality has no negative effects upon those who elect not to involve in it. Therefore, the Government has no room in banning it and no room in discriminating against the persons who practice it. References: McKeown, D 2017, Chronology of same sex marriage bills introduced into the federal parliament: a quick guide. Available from: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1617/Quick_Guides/SSMarriageBills. [23 September 2017]. Marriage Act 1961 (Cth). Perales, F. Campbell, A. 2017. Who supports same-sex marriage in Australia? And who doesnt? University of Queensland. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-31/same-sex-marriage-who-supports-it-and-who-doesnt-hilda-data/8856884. [23 September 2017]. Smyth, J. (2017). Same- sex marriages reignites Australias culture wars. Financial Times. Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/f793f132-96f8-11e7-b83c-9588e51488a0. [23 September 2017]. The Conversation (2017) Legalising same-sex marriage will help reduce high rates of suicide among young people in Ausralia. Available from: https://theconversation.com/legalising-same-sex-marriage-will-help-reduce-high-rates-of-suicide-among-young-people-in-australia-82917. [23 September 2017]. Westcott, B. (2017). Australia votes on same- sex marriage: What you need to know. CNN. Available from: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/04/asia/australia-same-sex-marriage-explainer/index.html. [23 September 2017].