John Howard - The Homophobe

[Chantel]

The ACT government has condemned the Commonwealth's decision to overturn territory laws allowing gay civil unions, vowing to take its fight to the governor-general.

Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock emerged from a cabinet meeting on Tuesday with a directive to the governor-general to use commonwealth powers to scrap the territory laws before they could be used.

The ACT parliament voted just three weeks ago to allow gay couples to enter into a civil union, with almost the same status as marriage.

But Prime Minister John Howard said it was unacceptable that the laws would have equated civil unions with marriage.

ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said he would lobby his federal Labor colleagues and Governor-General Michael Jeffery not to accept the Howard government's decision.

"I can make representations to the governor-general imploring him not to be party to an act that would discriminate against Australian citizens who have a different sexual orientation," Mr Stanhope told ABC radio.

"I would be gravely disappointed if my federal colleagues, in the Labor Party did not seek at least - acknowledging the numbers in the federal parliament - to have the disallowable instrument disallowed.

"It is simply not appropriate that federal parliament, through its processes, send that signal that the federal parliament of Australia believes it's appropriate to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples."

Mr Stanhope said he was angry and disappointed by cabinet's decision and accused the government of conjuring a "wedge issue".

"The prime minister, I believe, is simply using another marginalised, disempowered group for his, I think, quite odious political purposes," he said.

Federal parliament, with Labor's support, voted in 2004 to explicitly define marriage in the Marriage Act as a union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.

Mr Ruddock said that even with amendments to the civil union laws designed to address federal concerns, the ACT was still being deliberately confrontational.

The federal Opposition's attorney-general spokeswoman Nicola Roxon urged Coalition MPs to reject the move and said she would urge caucus to disallow it.

"This is another stunning example of the Howard government's arrogance, riding roughshod over the democratically elected ACT legislature," she said.

The Australian Greens said they would also oppose the government's "discriminatory" decision.

"John Howard is yet again exposing his homophobic attitude towards some members of our community," Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said.

The federal government's decision follows a push by United States President George W Bush for a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

[Hitman]

That's fucked.
What the hell are they afraid of?
Assholes...

[Chantel]

No idea.

I honestly don't see what's wrong with same sex marriages...because well....there's NOTHING wrong with two people being in love.

[Hitman]

Exactly.
It's like we're still living in the past.
Some men enjoy fucking each other in the ass, DEAL with it John...

[Chantel]