- Pay tax - Participate in Australian Democracy with compulsory elections
They are not excluded from: - Serving in the military, possibly even dying - Working in healthcare roles, looking after us - Serving as police officers - Becoming Members of Parliament
If a gay couple lives together and one is unemployed, the unemployed person cannot claim Government benefits just as Straight Couples cannot.
Yet we don't recognise a gay relationship under the Marriage Act, which confers many rights to spouses that do not exist under Common Law Marriages/Defacto Relationships.
It's a massive double standard. We cannot extend societial obligations to gay people yet then restrict them from access to certain legal protections.
I'm not talking about marriages in churches - that is for the church to decide who participates, based on their teachings. I believe that all marriages should involve a civil ceremony (such as in Europe) to recognise the relationship under the terms of the Marriage Act.
Even taking a step and calling same sex marriages "Civil Unions" would be worthwhile. I think people will be pleasantly surprised to see the sky won't fall in (or probably won't even notice)
