High Court said NO to Homosexual marriage
The Abbott government got what it bargained for in having the ACT homosexual marriage law overturned. The High Court said that the Federal Parliament can pass such a law. This has been known all along. Contention had surrounded whether the Federal Parliament could enact a same-sex marriage law . The question hinged on the word ''marriage'' in section 51 of the constitution, which defined the scope of federal power in the area. The meaning to be given to ''marriage'' exposed two very different ways of interpreting the constitution. On the one hand, the High Court could limit ''marriage'' to being between a man and woman by taking an originalist perspective, that is, by reading the constitution according to the intentions of its framers. Alternatively, the court might take a more liberal approach by allowing the word to evolve. Opponents of homosexual marriage made much of this lingering constitutional uncertainty. Lawyers for the Pres