News of New York's marriage equality victory reverberated not only in America, but across the globe. In Australia, activists have been pushing to achieve equality for quite a while, and news of New York reinvigorated the fight down under.
For those Australians not inclined to wait for the inevitable victory at home, there is of course the opportunity to hop a jet and get hitched in the Big Apple.
But Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard will have none of that. From Australian Marriage Equality:
The Gillard Government is blocking the marriages of gay Australians in New York.
When New York state's new equal marriage law takes effect on July 27th same-sex couples from other countries will be able to marry there if they provide a Certificate of Non-Impediment to Marriage (CNI) to show they are not already married in their home country.
But the Australian Government refuses to give such certificates to same-sex couples intending to marry overseas, a policy defended by Julia Gillard as recently as the 14th of June, 2011.
Australian Marriage Equality National Convener, Alex Greenwich, called the policy petty and mean-spirited.
"The Gillard Government's policy of not allowing same-sex marriages in Australia forces same-sex couples to go overseas if they want to marry, but when they apply to marry in another country Julia Gillard is there saying "no" as well", Mr Greenwich said.
"This means some couples miss out on entitlements and protections they can only receive overseas if they are married in a country that would otherwise regcognise their committment, and it causes endless hassles for couples who have planned their wedding only to find it can't go ahead."
In response to a question from Independent MP, Andrew Wilkie on June 14th Julia Gillard incorrectly stated that CNIs are issued to show if a marriage is recognised in Australia (details here), but the New York Marriage Registry clearly defines a CNI in the following way:
"A Certificate of Non-Impediment is an official Certification that the City Clerk's Office has no information that would be an "impediment" to your getting a Marriage License in the City of New York."
In 2009, a tri-partisan Senate inquiry condemned the policy of not issuing CNIs to same-sex couples and called for it be scrapped on the following basis:
"A decision by a sovereign nation to allow marriage between a couple of the same sex should be a matter for that nation, and not a matter against which Australia should throw up bureaucratic barriers."
On Wednesday, openly-gay South Australian Labor State Upper House member, Ian Hunter, condemned the Gillard Government's refusal to issue CNIs and revealed he and his partner have officially applied for a CNI to marry overseas. (Details here.)
Yesterday in an interview with Sky News, Julia Gillard said she may not respect a motion at December's National Labor Conference in favour of allowing same-sex marriages.
Sweet.
The Australian government would be under no obligation (and would refuse to) recognize the marriage certificates their citizens would bring home. This is just plain meaness.
Recent polls indicate that Australians favor marriage equality by as much as 75%. Way to make it clear you are not a "woman of the people" Prime Minister Gillard.
Buck up, friends down under, you'll win. Anyone know what's Australian for "George Wallace?"
8:22 PM PT: FYI, their press release contains an error. New York's marriage equality begins July 24th not the 27th. Maybe the 24th in NY is the 27th in Australia? How many international date lines are there?