GAY TRUTH

The High Court heard the ACT same-sex marriage case on Tuesday, December 3rd, reserving its decision until December 12. ACL’s Research Officer Daniel Simon attended the hearing and reports on the arguments presented. The Commonwealth argued that the ACT’s same-sex marriage law, passed in October and taking effect on December 7, is invalid because it is inconsistent with the Commonwealth Marriage Act 1961. Under the Australian Constitution, the federal government has the power to legislate for marriage. The Constitution also says that any state or territory law inconsistent with a federal law is invalid. In its arguments, the Commonwealth, represented by Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson SC, made two main points: the uniformity of marriage law in Australia, and the intention to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. One law for Australia Firstly, marriage is a federal power because this allows for one uniform law throughout the country. Prior to 1900, the separate colonies h...

The Commonwealth of Australia v The Australian Capital Territory [2013] HCATrans 299 (3 December 2013) Last Updated: 3 December 2013 [2013] HCATrans 299 IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA Office of the Registry Canberra No C13 of 2013 B e t w e e n  - THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Plaintiff and THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY Defendant FRENCH CJ HAYNE J CRENNAN J KIEFEL J BELL J KEANE J TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS AT CANBERRA ON TUESDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2013, AT 10.15 AM Copyright in the High Court of Australia MR J.T. GLEESON, SC , Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth :  May it please the Court, I appear with  MR M.P. KEARNEY, SC ,  MR C.L. LENEHAN  and  MR G.A. HILL , for the Commonwealth as plaintiff. (instructed by Australian Government Solicitor ) MR P.J.F. GARRISSON, SC , Solicitor-General of the Australian Capital Territory) :  May it please the Court, I appear for the defendant with my learned friends,  MS ...