Last week Tasmania made history as the first state in Australia to pass a motion in favour of marriage equality for same-sex couples. It is testament to the power of social change that the last state to decriminalise homosexuality is now leading the way on positive law reform.
In 1997 Tasmania finally moved to amend the law so that homosexuality was no longer criminalised in that state. In just under 15 years, it seems the debate in Tasmania has moved full circle – from whether homosexuality is illegal to how we can give same-sex relationships the same legal and social status as other relationships. This is something that opponents of marriage reform should keep in mind.
We know that social views on a range of issues have changed dramatically over the last few decades.
