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ASC287 - Love, Sex And Relationships
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Added on 2019-10-30
ASC287 - Love, Sex And Relationships
Added on 2019-10-30
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Running header: SAME SEX MARRIAGE LEGISLATION IN AUSTRALIA1Same sex marriage legislation in AustraliaStudent’s nameUniversity
SAME SEX MARRIAGE LEGISLATION IN AUSTRALIA2Same sex marriage legislation in AustraliaSame sex marriages popularly known as gay marriages are marriage relationship betweenpeople of the same sex. The issue of same sex marriages has raised a lot of controversial issues over whether the society needs to recognize such marriages or not. Herek (2006) suggests that proponents of the idea have been pushing for legislation and recognition of such marriages within the law. Many countries have faced such issues with politicians and human rights lobby groups taking sides on the issue. The first law ever enacted to recognize such marriages was enacted in 2001 in Netherlands. However today many countries have passed these laws with overtwenty countries having passed such laws. Other countries of the world are in the process of passing such laws due to a rising support of these marriages. Most of the countries that have passed such laws have made legislative changes on marriage laws. In Australia, such marriages are treated as de facto unions under the federal law but the Australian constitution allows each state to create its own laws regarding such marriages. This gives room for only civil unions but same sex marriages are prohibited by the marriage Act (1961). This essay analyses the controversial legislation of same sex marriages and how the Liberal Senators, together with Labor, Greens and crossbench members are pushing for this legislation. It attempts to look at the sociological reasons behind people and legislators opposing these marriages. Recognition of same sex marriages is a political, social issue and religious issue with debates varying across different sections of the population[ CITATION Sas00 \l 1033 ]. The Australian political environment has been in tussle over whether the laws legalizing same sex marriages need to be passed or not. However, Perales & Alice Campbell (2017) suggest that pressure has been building for leaders to make changes in the legislation to allow for such
SAME SEX MARRIAGE LEGISLATION IN AUSTRALIA3marriages. This led to the drafting of the bill to legalize gay marriages through postal survey votes. The same sex marriage vote has elicited reactions among the Australian community with over 20,000 before gathering in Sydney to show their approval of the gay marriages before the September 12th vote[ CITATION Fra17 \l 1033 ]. Australians will be asked to vote on whether same sex marriages should be legalized in the country by allowing such couples to marry or not. Politicians, religious leaders, activists and the Australian community have taken different stands on whether the marriages should legalized or not. Some like religious leaders have argued that marriage is based on love and intimacy not sexual orientation of the parties. The society is divided over whether same sex marriages should be allowed or prohibited. Different sociological explanations and theories have been used to justify either point of view. The American Psychiatric Association had initially described same sex relationships as mental disorders until the rise of such rights in countries like the US[ CITATION Sas00 \l 1033 ]. The recentrise of same sex relationship support has been seen as an explicit challenge to societal norms. This means that same sex marriage can be seen as a morality issue rooted in the responsibility of one’s freedom[ CITATION Gid01 \l 1033 ]. Proposers of same sex marriages argue that homosexuality is an in born powerful trait that cannot be controlled through religion or psychology. It has been argued that these people at first try to resist this drive but are overwhelmed by the force inside them to the point of accepting. Hart-Brinson (2016) suggests that social imagination can be used to explain how society has recognized these marriages through tracing its history by analyzing how the social imagination changed twice from mental illness to deviant behaviour and from deviant behaviour to collective identity. These moments of change formed the turning point of social acceptance of
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