I wish the ACT queer society wouls tay behind closed doors & don't do to the whole country what they do with each other.

From what I understand is that marriage law lies firmly within the ambit of the federal law, and the responsible thing to do is to take a challenge immediately to the high court. Not necessarily to strike the law down, but to determine whether it is valid.

If the state did not challenge this law, then it may well have been challenged privately in "divorce" proceedings a few years down the road, and to be struck down then when thousands of people have built their lives around the law would be far more destructive.

With the ACT law before the high court, BoF would be crazy to try and legislate same sex marriage until a verdict was handed down. Passing legislation that has no legal validity is a sign of poor government.

Given that the percentage of Australian couples opting for conventional marriage as against simply living in a partnership is steadily declining, and that gays are probably something less than 2% of the population and that, even then, only a small proportion of them probably want the official sanction of marriage, why is so much media/political attention focussed on what is almost a non-problem? Try thinking about real problems, such as aborigines in isolated settlements, homeless people,battered wives, etc. As my daughter might say, "Get real!"

Tony O'Brien

Tony, yes our governments should be concentrating on ‘real’ problems.

But there should also be scope for issues such as gay marriage. Our governments should most definitely not sweep things like this under the carpet.

I reckon it is very good that it is in the media spotlight and at the front of the minds of some government policy-makers at the moment.

Trouble is: lots of bigger issues aren’t.

Homosexuality & dignity, surely an oxymoron. Have none seen the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi?

Homosexual mirage, an utter waste of time & effort.

Hoooold on there Haz!

You’ve got a reputation for being the king hoon and rev-head of OLO.

That’s not something I find at all appealing, to say the least. But I guess that even some of your type could possibly….maybe… be reputable people with a degree of dignity?.... maybe?