In this article, openly gay Labor MLA from South Australia, Ian Hunter, explains why civil unions are “a compromise that satisfies no one”.
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If gay marriage is too controversial for some federal politicians to handle – with entrenched positions on both sides – why don’t we do what political pragmatists are taught to do, and compromise? Say, with civil unions?
After all – they have civil unions in the UK and NZ and many other countries. To conservatives you can argue that this gives the gays their relationship recognition but still keeps marriage exclusive to the heterosexual club. And to the gays you can argue that it’s a huge step forward – they get their ‘weddings’ now and all the state recognition that goes with them … and that eventually society may feel relaxed enough to move to marriage … one day … down the track.
To read the full article, click here.
For AME’s paper, ‘A failed experiment’: Why civil unions are no substitute for marriage equality, click here.