News
Australia high court strikes down same-sex marriage law
27 gay couples tied the knot in capital territory over last five days
Lawmakers in the Australian capital in October approved a same-sex marriage bill.
The Australia High Court unanimously ruled the statute that ACT lawmakers narrowly approved nearly two months ago cannot remain in effect alongside a federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
“Only a marriage conforming to that definition may be formed or recognized in Australia,” the decision reads. “The provisions of the ACT Act which deal with the rights of parties to marriages formed under that Act and with the dissolution of such marriages can have no valid operation.”
The Star Observer, an Australian LGBT newspaper, reported 27 gay and lesbian couples married in the ACT in which the country’s capital of Canberra is located since the same-sex marriage law took effect on Dec. 7. The Australia High Court decision nullifies these unions.
Ivan Hinton of Australian Marriage Equality married his partner, Chris Teoh, on Dec. 7.
The Associated Press reported the couple on Wednesday applied to change their last names to Hinton-Teoh once they received their marriage certificate.
“It is personally devastating that my marriage to Chris has only enjoyed legal significance for five days,” Hinton told the Washington Blade. “But our commitment to one another is lifelong and our resolve to achieving marriage equality for all Australians is only more resolute.”
Australian Marriage Equality National Director Rodney Croome further categorized the ruling as “just a temporary defeat.”
The decision said only the federal government can decide whether to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The Star Observer reported a group of Australian senators on Wednesday pledged to form what the newspaper described as a “working group” to push the issue of nuptials for gays and lesbians in the country’s Parliament. Prime Minister Tony Abbott opposes marriage rights for same-sex couples, even though his sister is a lesbian and his wife and daughters back the issue.
“We now have a clear political and constitutional path forward for marriage equality, and call on the prime minister to grant his party a free vote on the reform,” said Croome.
Amy Coopes, an Australia-based correspondent for Agence France-Presse, told the Blade that advocates remain optimistic about the prospects of marriage rights for same-sex couples in the country in spite of their obvious disappointment with the ruling.
“It ruled that the Parliament does have the power to change the Marriage Act and that gay marriage is, in effect, legal if they want it to be,” said Coopes. “Seems to be common sense, but this is the first time it’s been stated.”
Miles Heffernan, who is the features editor for the Star Observer, noted to the Blade during a telephone interview from Sydney the decision in fact opens the door to adding same-sex couples to the federal marriage law.
“So they were part very conservative, part a little bit activist,” said Heffernan.
New Zealand is among the 15 countries in which gays and lesbians can legally marry.
Same-sex couples will be able to legally marry in England and Wales on March 29. The Irish government last month announced a referendum on whether to extend marriage rights to gays and lesbians will take place in 2015.
District of Columbia
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
‘This is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on March 20 signed a bill approved by the D.C. Council that requires health insurance companies to cover the costs of HIV prevention or PrEP drugs for D.C. residents at risk for HIV infection.
Like all legislation approved by the Council and signed by the mayor, the bill, called the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act, was sent to Capitol Hill for a required 30-day congressional review period before it takes effect as D.C. law.
Gay D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) last year introduced the bill.
Insurance coverage for PrEP drugs has been provided through coverage standards included in the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. But AIDS advocacy organizations have called on states and D.C. to pass their own legislation requiring insurance coverage of PrEP as a safeguard in case federal policies are weakened or removed by the Trump administration, which has already reduced federal funding for HIV/AIDS-related programs.
Like legislation passed by other states, the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act requires insurers to cover all PrEP drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Studies have shown that PrEP drugs, which can be taken as pills or by injection just twice a year, are highly effective in preventing HIV infection.
“I think this is a win for our community,” Parker said after the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve the bill on its first vote on the measure in February. “And this is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance “will hold bilateral meetings with” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement further indicates the vice president “will also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.”
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the country’s parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post Thursday, following growing criticism over how she and the Department of Justice handled a range of issues, including matters related to sex offender and Trump ally Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump announced Bondi’s removal on Truth Social, where he also said Todd Blanche will serve as acting head of the Justice Department.
“Pam Bondi is a great American patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my attorney general over the past year,” Trump wrote on the platform. “Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown on crime across our country, with murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900.”
Trump was seen as recently as Wednesday with the now-former attorney general at a Supreme Court hearing on citizenship.
The decision contrasts with Trump’s previous public praise of Bondi, the 87th U.S. attorney general and former 37th attorney general of Florida, who served in that role from 2011-2019 before joining the Trump-Vance administration. He has frequently lauded her loyalty and said he speaks with her often. Bondi was also one of president’s defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial.
Privately, however, Trump had grown frustrated that Bondi was not “moving quickly enough” to prosecute critics and political adversaries he wanted to face criminal charges, according to multiple sources. The New York Times reported that her inability to charge former FBI Director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James with any crimes is a large factor in the president’s choice to fire her from the government’s primary law enforcement agency.
The move comes as Trump has sought to minimize public turmoil within his administration, avoiding the perception of a revolving-door Cabinet that defined his first term.
Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who unsuccessfully ran for governor, has emerged as a leading contender to lead the Justice Department. He has been one of Trump’s most reliable allies.
“He’s our secret weapon,” Trump said of Zeldin in February during a White House event promoting the coal industry, adding, “He’s getting those approvals done in record-setting time.”
Bondi has also growing faced scrutiny from Congress.
The House Oversight Committee recently subpoenaed her to testify about the department’s handling of certain files, where she declined to answer key questions during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in February.
The Tampa native has a long history of opposing LGBTQ rights through her roles in government. As Florida attorney general, she fought against the legalization of same-sex marriage, arguing it would cause “serious public harm,” pushing forward a legal battle that cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. She also asked the Florida Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
More recently, Bondi established a “Title IX Special Investigations Team” within the Justice Department focused on restricting transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports teams and accessing facilities aligned with their gender identity. She also told Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to turn over the medical records of anyone under 19 who received gender-affirming care.
Her removal follows Trump’s decision last month to oust another controversial female Cabinet figure, Kristi Noem.
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
JD Vance to travel to Hungary next week
Pam Bondi ousted as attorney general
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