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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/dec/12/act-gay-marriage-law-is-ruled-invalid-by-high-court
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| ACT gay marriage law is ruled invalid by high court | ACT gay marriage law is ruled invalid by high court |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The high court has struck down the Australian Capital Territory same-sex marriage law. | |
| The court ruled unanimously that the law could not sit concurrently with the federal Marriage Act, which says marriage is between a man and a woman, and has ruled the ACT law is invalid. | The court ruled unanimously that the law could not sit concurrently with the federal Marriage Act, which says marriage is between a man and a woman, and has ruled the ACT law is invalid. |
| The high court found that “that the whole of the ACT act is of no effect”. It said the federal parliament had the power under the constitution to legislate with respect to same-sex marriage and the federal Marriage Act was a “comprehensive and exhaustive statement of the law of marriage”. Marriages that have taken place under the new law since it came into effect on Saturday no longer have legal effect. | |
| The court said: “The court held that the object of the ACT act is to provide for marriage equality for same-sex couples and not for some form of legally recognised relationship which is relevantly different from the relationship of marriage which the federal law provides for and recognises. | The court said: “The court held that the object of the ACT act is to provide for marriage equality for same-sex couples and not for some form of legally recognised relationship which is relevantly different from the relationship of marriage which the federal law provides for and recognises. |
| “Accordingly the ACT act cannot operate concurrently with the federal act. | “Accordingly the ACT act cannot operate concurrently with the federal act. |
| “Because the ACT act does not validly provide for the formation of same-sex marriages, its provisions about the rights of parties to such marriages and the dissolution of such marriages cannot have separate operation and are also of no effect.” | “Because the ACT act does not validly provide for the formation of same-sex marriages, its provisions about the rights of parties to such marriages and the dissolution of such marriages cannot have separate operation and are also of no effect.” |
| Glenda and Jennifer Lloyd, a couple who married under the ACT law, said they had tried to prepare for the disappointment of their marriage being voided by the high court. Regardless of the legal outcome, they said they still felt married, having made a genuine commitment to each other. | |
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