Same sex unions now legal in the Australian Capital Territory, again... for the moment.

The ACT have made several attempts at passing a same-sex union Bill and today it was successful and same sex unions made legal, again. Yay! Well, that is until the federal government come along and veto the laws...

Krudd previously said that he would not overturn such legislation after Howard invalidated the first same-sex union bill to be passed in the ACT back in 2006, but has not ruled out a veto of the new bill. Amendments were made to the bill which allows for civil unions of same-sex couples only, excluding transgender and heterosexual couples. The amendments were made to assure the federal government that the unions would not mimic marriage, as the federals gov are committed to the definition that marriage is only between a women and a man.

While it's nothing like equal rights, it's at least a step in the right direction. The ACT governor-general cited legal advice that the bill is not at odds with the marriage act, so unless the federal government can come up with a good argument on how this impinges their constitutional powers, vetoing the act would be nothing short of discriminatory.

I guess we'll find out soon, but lets hope this time it sticks :)