Legal and Social Impact of Same-Sex Marriage in Australia

This report provides an overview of the legal status of same-sex marriage in Australia, focusing on the Marriage Amendment Act of 2017. The report discusses the historical context, including the initial opposition and the subsequent postal survey that led to the legislation's passage. It outlines the key changes introduced by the Act, such as the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples, and its implications for Australian law and society. Furthermore, the report considers the arguments and debates surrounding the legislation, including the concerns of religious groups and the broader implications for LGBTQ+ rights and equality. The report also references relevant academic sources to support its analysis, offering a comprehensive understanding of the legal and social impact of same-sex marriage in Australia.

Same-Sex Marriage

Table of Contents
Same Sex Marriage in Australia......................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

Same Sex Marriage in Australia
Same sex marriage is not legally accepted in many countries due to some cultural and
traditional differences. Thinking of people is not ideal on this topic. Most of the people are not in
favour of this type of marriage (Carson, Ratcliff and Dufresne, 2018). They think it is not
natural. This condition was same for Australia since 2017. Same sex marriage was not legal in
country till 2017, as Marriage Amendment Act 2017 Passed in Australian Parliament. As this
law passed from parliament it became effective from 9 December 2017. This bill was passed on
the basis of a postal survey which was organized on the voluntary basis. There 61.6 % votes
were in favour of the same sex marriage. On the basis of postal survey Senator Dean Smith has
presented this amendment in Australian Parliament.
To implement this law successfully it is important to make changes in certain laws and
definitions to reduce the complexity and possible contradictions in law. The some definitions
were reformed in order to make this marriage legal in other countries as well. First change is
about the definition of the Marriage because before this law, the definition of marriage in
Australia was considered as union of a man and a woman (Dreher, 2017). But after this
amendment law is changed the definition of marriage was redefined. In the Section 88EA along
with redefining of marriage definition, it is appealed to recognize the same sex marriage to
enter it in the foreign countries. This thing allows the same sex marriage which were performed
in other countries automatically legalized in Australia.
There are many senators who have asked to consider various other things that can help to
implement this changes in the marriage act. Apart from this there are some amendments were
proposed to be considers, but they were rejected for the marriage act. In this process of
legalization, Senator have also proposed some other proposal to consider the points that includes
the religious security. According to them it is need to be analysed that involvement of law will be
good for this act or not. Initially the same sex marriage is considered as down fall of society.
People were also concerned about the right implementation and operation of law (Johnson and
Tremblay, 2018). As per the Commonwealth law this law is inconsistent and it can affect this
law with implementation. The main objectives of this act are- To allow all the civil celebration
related to union should be considered instead of other considerations, to allow the ministry of
Religion to solemnise marriage, respecting the Doctrines, tenets and beliefs related to particular
religion and allows equal access to union while protecting religious freedom in relation to

marriage. This is how the same sex marriage bill was passed with some amendments in Marriage
act in year 2017.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Carson, A., Ratcliff, S. and Dufresne, Y., 2018. Public opinion and policy responsiveness: the
case of same-sex marriage in Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science. 53(1),
pp.3-23.
Dreher, T., 2017. The ‘uncanny doubles’ of queer politics: Sexual citizenship in the era of same-
sex marriage victories. Sexualities. 20(1-2). pp.176-195.
Johnson, C. and Tremblay, M., 2018. Comparing same-sex marriage in Australia and Canada:
Institutions and political will. Government and Opposition. 53(1). pp.131-158.