Australia’s Labor party votes to support gay marriage

Australia’s ruling Labor party has voted, at its annual conference, to support the introduction of gay marriage.

The vote to support gay marriage comes as the campaign for marriage equality gains momentum in the country. Last week a video advert called It’s Time, by the GetUp lobby group, became an internet hit with over 1 million viewers in just a few days – the video is a promotion for marriage equality. A petition for marriage equality was handed to Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard this week – it had over 140,000 signatures.

Julia Gillard is on record as opposing the legalising of gay marriage to Australia. However, her own party has seemingly defied her by voting to support gay marriage. Ms Gillard has proposed though that any vote on such legislation should be a “free vote” meaning MP’s can vote via their own personal views and not those of their party. That means any such legalisation put before the Australian government is likely to fail as Gillard’s party does not have an overall majority.

Never-the-less the move by the ruling party is a step in the right direction. A number of states within Australia have already passed laws which move in the direction of gay marriage. States such as New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria offer gay couples civil unions and have called on the Australian government to legalise gay marriage.

Gay marriage is an issue that is the political agenda in many countries at the moment. Denmark has stated it will introduce marriage equality next year while Luxembourg’s parliament has indicated it will introduce gay marriage. The United Kingdom government will hold a public consultation on the issue next year. The Scottish government, which has devolved powers from the UK government, is already holding a consultation on gay marriage and is “inclined” to legalise it. Other countries such as Germany

Countries which have already passed gay marriage laws include Canada, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Iceland and Argentina. Gay marriage has also been legalised in Mexico City and some states of America such as New York, New Hampshire and Iowa.