Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013
Former Australian Capital Territory legislation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013 was an act of parliament of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly that was intended to legalise same-sex marriage in the ACT.[1] It was first presented to the ACT Legislative Assembly on 19 September 2013 by the ACT Attorney-General, Simon Corbell. The law intended to build on the existing recognition of same-sex unions in the Australian Capital Territory, which included recognition of de facto partners, civil partnerships and same-sex-only civil unions (with civil unions being replaced by same-sex marriage if the Act was successfully passed). The Act was passed in the Legislative Assembly on 22 October 2013.[2] It came into operation on 7 November although wedding ceremonies under the provisions of the Act did not occur until 7 December 2013.[3][4]
Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013 | |
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ACT Legislative Assembly | |
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Citation | A2013-39 |
Territorial extent | Australian Capital Territory |
Passed by | Legislative Assembly |
Passed | 22 October 2013 |
Enacted | 4 November 2013 |
Commenced | 7 November 2013 (Weddings held from 7 December 2013) |
Struck down | 12 December 2013 |
Struck down by | |
High Court of Australia The Commonwealth v Australian Capital Territory [2013] HCA 55, (2013) 250 CLR 441. | |
Status: Struck down |
Alan Wright (Player) and Joel Player were the first same-sex couple to marry under the new laws.[4] Upon the law's commencement, the Abbott government challenged the legal and constitutional validity of the Act, lodging an immediate challenge in the High Court of Australia. The case was heard on 3 December and a ruling was handed down on 12 December 2013. The High Court unanimously struck the Act down in its entirety, on the basis that it was in conflict with the federal Marriage Act, which defined marriage in Australia as the union of a man and a woman. The court did however expressly confirm in its ruling that the Parliament of Australia had the constitutional authority to amend the definition of marriage in the Marriage Act, so as to allow same-sex couples to marry.[5]