Originally Posted by
Derfred
Alan Joyce is not trying to undermine democracy by painting a rainbow logo on a jet.......
Nice little straw man right there.
Originally Posted by
Derfred
I will say this though, the tone of the last 8 pages is a damned sight better than the first 8 pages, so I'm glad this thread is being allowed to run it's course.
You've got a better memory than I to even remember the first 8 pages!
Like you though I'm pleased thisnthread has been able to run its course.
A couple of pages back somone asked me my thoughts about the legal status of same sex relationships.
This is personal opinion. It may not fit a legal definition somewhere so my apologies if I'm not legally precise.
The law exists to protect us. It does this by regulating certain things. When it comes to marriage law one of the important aspects is to protect the weaker member of the relationship. To ensure that in the event of marriage breakdown the weaker of the parties is not left destitute. My view of de facto relationships is the same. The law should exist to protect the parties in the event of relationship breakdown. In this respect the law should be equal for both married couples and de facto couples. It should be the same for hetero de facto relationships as well as same sex de facto relationships.
I think headmaster it was that pointed out that the threshold test for same sex de facto relationships was more difficult to demonstrate. If that's the case it should be changed. There should be no differences in the legal status of these relationships. The weaker member of the relationship needs to be protected. If there is no 'weaker' member then at least the law provides for an 'orderly' dissolution of the relationship.
Of course, a marriage means that we don't need to demonstrate that we've been in a de facto relationship for a period of time. The legal protections are effective from the day of the marriage. In fact, I would not have been protected under law prior to being married as I was not in a de facto relationship. Many people these days actually are legally protected prior to being married as they've been in a de facto relationship- often for a year or more- prior to getting married. I'd be stunned were a same sex couple not already protected under the de facto legislation prior to them getting 'married'.
Should a de facto couple (hetero or same sex) be able to 'register' their relationship? Probably. If that assists with the administration in the event of a relationship breakdown or death of one of the members. I would have thought a good will would have covered the death part though. If it doesn't then there's no reason why that part shouldn't be tidied up. People will no doubt argue the admin steps I've described here are essentially a marriage in all but name only. The distinctions though are things I've articulated previously.
Once upon a time Anglican churches baptised whomever asked for it. These days the church is a bit more discerning about it and actually require a declaration of faith in order to baptise a child or adult. Perhaps if SSM gets up we'll find the church move in the same way for marriage also.
Of course, no doubt some quarters of the gay lobby will be unhappy that 'the church' will refuse to solemnise the relationship and already we've seen that Labor is considering making speaking out against SSM illegal as no doubt that will 'offend' somone also so we will see if this really is about 'equality' or not in the future.