I’m holidaying in the gay mecca, San Francisco, where same-sex marriage advocates are rallying outside the Federal Appeals Court, which is considering the constitutional validity of Proposition 8.
A three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals began hearing oral arguments for and against a lower court ruling that found California’s voter-approved ban against same-sex marriage, unconstitutional.
The California Marriage Protection Act (Proposition 8) passed in the November 2008 state elections and amended the Californian Constitution, to include a new provision to which states that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognised in California”.
Following the passage of Proposition 8, mass protests took place across the state, leading to several lawsuits being filed in the State Supreme Court.
The California Supreme Court upheld the voter initiative in May 2009, but then the ruling was overturned by the Federal District Court in August 2010, however the ruling was stayed pending the current appeal.
While we wait with baited breath for the ruling in California, in Australia, more surveys are indicating that the majority of Australians support full marriage equality.
According to a huge poll reported on News.com.au on 1 December, two-thirds of Australians are not opposed to same-sex marriage. Of the 150,000 people who took part in the survey nationally, 46 percent were in favour; 35 percent were opposed; and 19 percent didn’t care either way.
The survey showed that while most Australians were in favour, there appears to be a wall of opposition against full marriage equality running through western Sydney, one of the nation’s key election battlegrounds.
Recently Federal lower house MPs backed Greens MP Adam Bandt’s motion requiring MPs to seek the views of their constituents on same-sex marriage.
The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby encourages everyone to write to their local Federal members and express their support for full marriage equality.
