What about the mental anguish the kid will experience?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Religious-groups-lead-gay-pride-parade/2007/06/25/1182623773918.html

Religious groups including Christians, Jews and Buddhists led the New York gay pride parade, lending gravity to the often outrageous event that celebrates the night patrons of a gay bar in Manhattan resisted a police raid.

"We stand for a progressive religious voice," said Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of New York City's Congregation Beth Simchat Torah.

"Those who use religion to advocate an anti-gay agenda I believe are blaspheming God's name."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/US-Lutherans-to-allow-gay-pastors/2007/08/12/1186857316576.html

Homosexual Lutheran clergy who are in sexual relationships will be able to serve as pastors, the largest US Lutheran body said.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) passed a resolution at its annual assembly urging bishops to refrain from disciplining pastors who are in "faithful committed same-gender relationships".

The resolution passed by a vote of 538-431.

"The church ... has just said 'Do not do punishments'," said Phil Soucy, spokesman for Lutherans Concerned, a gay-lesbian rights group within the church. "That is huge."

The ELCA, which has 4.8 million members, had previously allowed gays to serve as pastors so long as they abstained from sexual relations.

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Italians protest at anti-gay outburst

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Italians-protest-at-antigay-outburst/2007/08/12/1186857316586.html

Hundreds of Italians protested in the northern Italian city of Treviso after the city's deputy mayor called for the "ethnic cleansing" of homosexuals from the area.

The protesters gathered outside city hall to demand Giancarlo Gentilini's resignation, some wearing pink triangles like the ones homosexual men had to wear in Nazi concentration camps.

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Hundreds march to protest gay marriage ban

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22231315-29277,00.html

HUNDREDS of people marched on Sydney's Town Hall today calling for the Federal Government to legalise same-sex marriages.

Greens senator Kerry Nettle said today's rally, which began at Taylor Square in Sydney's east, marked three years since the Howard government decided against legalising gay marriages.

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Senate-inquiry-to-examine-boycott-laws/2007/08/16/1186857645359.html

Also on Thursday, Democrats senator Andrew Bartlett failed in an attempt to have a Senate committee examine changes to the migration system as well as laws designed to give same-sex couples equal entitlements.

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This is pretty low:

US church liable in funeral protest

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/US-church-liable-in-funeral-protest/2007/11/01/1193619025335.html

A US jury ordered an anti-gay Kansas church to pay $US10.9 million ($A11.7 million) in damages to relatives of a US Marine who died in Iraq after church members cheered his death at his funeral.

Church members said Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder's death was God's punishment of America for tolerating homosexuality. They attended his 2006 funeral in Maryland with signs saying "You're going to hell" and "God hates you".

The federal jury determined the Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, and three of its principals invaded the privacy of the dead man's family and inflicted emotional distress.

The jury awarded Snyder's family $US2.9 million ($A3.11 million) in compensatory damages plus $US8 million ($A8.59 million) in punitive damages in the first civil suit against the church, which has demonstrated at 300 military funerals the past two years.

The lawsuit said church websites vilified US soldiers, accusing them of being indoctrinated by "fag propaganda".

"I hope it's enough to deter them from doing this to other families. It was not about the money. It was about getting them to stop," said Snyder, of York, Pennsylvania.

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Govt pledges super for same sex couples

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Govt-pledges-super-for-same-sex-couples/2007/11/08/1194329357864.html

A re-elected coalition government would change superannuation laws to allow same-sex couples access to payouts if one partner dies.

Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull made the promise at a Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association dinner on Wednesday night, but stopped short of committing to abolish 58 laws that the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has identified as discriminatory, ABC Radio reported.

Opposition frontbencher Tanya Plibersek pledged a Labor government would scrap all 58 laws that discriminate against gay and lesbian people in areas such as tax, pensions and Medicare.

"I believe that there are absolutely vast differences between the government and Labor on this issue," she said.

Mr Turnbull holds his seat of Wentworth by just 2.5 per cent. The electorate takes in the route of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

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Gay couples 'deserve equal treatment'

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Gay-couples-deserve-equal-treatment/2007/12/02/1196530462124.html

Newly elected Liberal leader Brendan Nelson says he supports equal economic and social rights for gay couples - but not marriage, adoption or IVF.

Dr Nelson said on Sunday gay couples should be treated the same as heterosexuals under Australia's tax and social security laws.

"I realise that there are some people listening to this, watching this, some of them quite conservative perhaps, who feel a little unease about this," he told ABC television.

"Our challenge is to say to ourselves, how would I feel if that were me? How would I feel if I had a son or a daughter or a brother or a sister in these arrangements.

I'm all for Gay rights, they deserved to be recognized.

Gay Marriage = No

Gay Civil Unions = Yes

Gay Adoption = Still thinking about that one, I think it should be possibly age limited? In a public school, I think there's more of a chance of the kid being vilified. But I'm not totally against it. I'm all for bringing lonely kids out of orphinages etc. (Come to think of it, Do we even have orphanages here? I haven't seen one yet?

Most christians I assosiate with are against it simply because they think it's wrong, (Probably why we're seemingly slowly growing apart)
I'm a christian, but Doesn't the bible preach against segregation?

Federal Govt to remove 100 discriminatory laws this year

http://buggery.org/2008/04/30/federal-govt-to-remove-100-discriminatory-laws-this-year/

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has confirmed that the federal government will go ahead with a raft of legal reforms for same-sex relationships. One hundred laws have been identified for change, including social security, taxation, health, superannuation and aged care.

The A-G has stressed that the law reforms will not change access to IVF or adoption and will not (surprise!) change the Marriage Act to enable same-sex marriage, and it’s unclear so far whether same-sex couples will gain access to the Family Court for custody and property disputes.

Nonetheless, these are exciting, sweeping and long-awaited reforms which should make gay and lesbian Australians very happy.

There had been some concern that the reforms, which had been promised by the ALP, would be shelved due to budgetary constraints, however the A-G has today confirmed that the needed funding (apparently something like $400 million) will be made available.

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http://goodqualityrant.blogspot.com/2008/04/bunch-of-thugs.html

After promising to legislate against discrimination against same-sex couples, Rudd and company have pulled a Ruddock and decided to continue the illegitimate blocking of ACT civil unions legislation.

"Attorney-General Robert McClelland says the Commonwealth remains opposed to ACT moves to allow same sex couples to hold a formal ceremony to recognise their relationships."


"Mr McClelland says he would prefer to see a registration scheme for same-sex couples similar to the models adopted in Tasmania and Victoria.

"Consistently with Labor Party policy we made it clear before the election that the Government regards marriage as being between a man and a woman and we don't support any measures that seek to mimic that," he said."

Laughable. The policy seems to be "you can have civil unions, but you must do it QUIETLY. No formal events." Oh? What are they going to do if people decide to have a big celebration on the day they 'register'? Sick Bjelke-Petersen on them?

What's the real motivation here? Because I'm not convinced it's the ALP's core religious belief in the sanctity of marriage. Political cowardice is everywhere in Rudd's Government. They're happy to stand by and let inflation run out of control, declining to rescind any of the numerous and inflationary bonuses Howard commissioned, and they're happy to pander a little to the quiet middle class bigotries. You know the sort I'm talking about -protective mothers who have 'homosexuality' on the list of things they should be protecting their kids from. Not the raging bigots that Pauline loves, mind you, but bigots nontheless-people who, as QP has said, don't want to be confronted with the image of two men or two women

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http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2008/04/sweeping-reforms-for-australias-gays.html

The Australian government has announced over 100 reforms giving gay couples almost the same rights as straight couples - with the notable exception of marriage.

The move has been welcomed by LGBT groups but has drawn criticism over the refusal to legalise 'gay marriage'. Under the changes, gay couples in long-term relationships would be treated the same as married couples on issues such as taxation, pensions and welfare payments. Attorney General Robert McClelland announced that the Labour government would introduce legislation next month to remove same-sex discrimination from some 100 laws.

The Netherlands was the first country to allow same-sex marriage in 2001. Same-sex marriages are also recognized in Belgium, Spain, Canada and South Africa. The first same-sex union in modern history with government recognition was obtained in Denmark in 1989.

Civil unions, civil partnership, domestic partnership, unregistered partnership/ unregistered co-habitation or registered partnerships offer varying amounts of the benefits of marriage and are available in:

Andorra,
Colombia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Iceland
Israel
Luxembourg
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Slovenia
South Africa
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Uruguay.

They are also available in some parts of Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Mexico, the U.S. states of California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington state, and the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.).

In the United Kingdom, civil partnerships have identical legal status to a marriage, and partners gain all the same benefits and associated legal rights; ranging from tax exemptions and joint property rights, to next-of-kin status and shared parenting responsibilities.

Aussie N, I heard you aren't gay, but you may have kissed a bloke who was?

Come on guys, put your prejudices aside, to discriminate against people because of their inherent sexuality is just wrong, flat out, no equivocation, just wrong.

Gays are like the rest of the population, right wing, left wing, apolitical, moral, immoral, generous, selfish, in short, just plain old ordinary people, so worrying about their sexual activities is pretty silly.

If every heterosexual had to list, every sexual act they have ever been engaged in, a large number of other people, would think they are a bit wierd, sexual drive leads many to some pretty 'out there' pleasure domes, but we choose to ignore that aspect, and concentrate on these peoples' sexuality, rather than their ability to have a loving relationship, that is what matters.

So to say people who have been committed  to a long term, loving homosexual partnership, should have less rights than an 18 year old couple who met at a nightclub, and will probably be divorced in 18 months, is patently unfair, just because one couple is gay.

http://news.smh.com.au/world/california-supreme-court-overturns-gay-marriage-ban-20080516-2evb.html

California's Supreme Court quashed a ban on gay marriage in a historic ruling here Thursday, effectively leaving same-sex couples in America's most populous state free to tie the knot.

In an opinion that analysts say could have nationwide implications for the issue, the seven-member panel voted 4-3 in favor of plaintiffs who argued that restricting marriage to men and women was discriminatory.

"Limiting the designation of marriage to a union 'between a man and a woman' is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute," California Chief Justice Ron George said in the written opinion.

The ruling added that all California couples had a "basic civil right" to marry "without regard to their sexual orientation."

Before Thursday only one US state -- Massachusetts -- allowed gay marriage, although California, New Jersey and Vermont have legislation which grants same-sex partners many of the same legal rights as married couples.

Plaintiffs in the court case were overcome with joy after their victory.

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Queen's honour for gay rights campaigner

http://news.smh.com.au/national/queens-honour-for-gay-rights-campaigner-20080609-2npz.html

Melbourne academic and gay rights campaigner Professor Dennis Altman has written a dozen books, is a leading human rights activist and played a major role in the development of HIV/AIDS policy.

For those, and other, achievements he has become a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday honours list.

Born in Sydney and educated in Hobart, Prof Altman started his career as a politics lecturer at Monash University in the 1960s, moving to the University of Sydney where, in 1971, he published his first book, Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation.

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Gay Anglican bishop enters civil union

http://news.smh.com.au/world/gay-anglican-bishop-enters-civil-union-20080609-2npu.html

The openly gay US Episcopal bishop at the centre of the Anglican church's global battle over homosexuality, has entered into a civil union with his longtime partner at a private ceremony.

About 120 guests gathered at St Paul's Church in New Hampshire for Saturday's ceremony for Bishop Gene Robinson and his partner of more than 19 years, Mark Andrews. The event was kept private out of respect for next month's worldwide Anglican conference, Robinson's spokesman, Mike Barwell, said on Sunday.

"It was absolutely joyful," Barwell said by telephone. "A lot of his supporters and friends were there, including many members of the gay and lesbian community."

The 77 million-member Anglican Communion, a global federation of national churches, has been in upheaval since 2003 when the Episcopal Church consecrated Robinson as the first bishop known to be in an openly homosexual relationship in more than four centuries of church history.

The Episcopal Church is the US branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Disputes over scriptural authority, the blessing of gay unions and other matters have become a worldwide issue and threaten turmoil this summer when Anglicans gather for their once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in Britain.

WOW, over half to posters here support it, in light of all the negative bigoted posts I've been reading I would have thought it would be the other way around.