De facto's don't have the same rights as married couples - Amnesty Int.

I was going to post this much earlier today but Turnbull's internet in Eastern Sydney has been almost unusable all day. ADSL2+ in 2017, with even the NBN a year off by current estimates. But I digress....

Anyway, the other day Australia's fossil fool captain made another captain's call. This is up there with his "marriage has been between a man and a woman since time immemorial". Obviously he has no idea of the Biblical form of marriage in only recent human history. It's a complete lie.



But of course the christians will use the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, to condemn us.

This time Abbott comes out with the line that gay people, being de facto's, have all the same rights as married people do anyway so why do they want to be married? Again, another lie.

That, in fact, is the Australia we've had for years. It's a long time, thank God, since gay people have been discriminated against and just about everyone old enough to remember that time is invariably embarrassed at the intolerance that was once common. Already, indeed, same sex couples in a settled domestic relationship have exactly the same rights as people who are married.


To demand "marriage equality", therefore, is quite misleading. Same sex couples already have that. This debate is about changing marriage, not extending it. And if you change marriage, you change society; because marriage is the basis of family; and family is the foundation of community. Sydney Morning Herald

Amnesty International has even taken Abbott to task over it.  An example from the article:

Differences under law The laws regarding de facto couples differ between states and the Commonwealth, and from one right to another. 


For Centrelink purposes, you are a de facto couple from the moment you start living together; for migration law it is after 12 months of cohabiting (unless you have a child together or de facto relationships are illegal in your country of origin). 


Under family law it is different again: a minimum of two years (unless you have a child together, have registered your relationship, or have made significant contributions to the relationship). 


Where married couples use IVF, both spouses are automatically legal parents. But for de facto couples using reproductive technologies, their child’s parentage depends on whether a de facto relationship is proven to exist. 


Couples who are or were married must file for property and/or spousal maintenance proceedings in the Family Court within one year of finalising a divorce, but have the option to agree to an extension of time in which to file. No such provision exists for de facto couples; they must file proceedings within two years. 


In many states, a new marriage nullifies an existing will, unless that will was quite specifically worded. This is not the case when you enter a new de facto relationship. In the latter situation, if you die before making a new will, a court might need to decide how your assets are allocated (with costs borne by your estate). 


 In all contexts, de facto relationships require significant proof, which means partners may have to provide evidence about their living and child care arrangements, sexual relationship, finances, ownership of property, commitment to a shared life and how they present as a couple in public. These criteria can be absent from a heterosexual marriage, but it is still deemed a marriage. 


Despite the wording in the marriage ceremony that marriage “is the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life”, it is up to married partners whether or not they share their finances, their housework, their childcare responsibilities, their homes or their beds, and how long they want to stay married. Amnesty

There's no legal reason to refuse one section of society equality under the law. No legal reason why a portion of society should be allowed to access a marriage institution whilst excluding others. Abbott again shows himself to be last century's man yet again.