Stephen Dawson and Dennis Liddelow married just after midnight Same-sex Australian couples are rushing to wed in Canberra, as questions over whether the marriages will stand hang over the unions. A brief window means same-sex couples can legally marry from today until the federal government challenges the validity of the Australian Capital Territory law at the High Court on Thursday. Under federal law, marriages can only be between a man and a woman in Australia. Those who have already wed have expressed hope the High Court will allow the marriages happening before Thursday to stand. However among those who have tied the knot is Western Australian Labor politician Stephen Dawson who married his long term partner Dennis Liddelow in Canberra just after midnight. A small group of family and friends were at the ceremony outside Parliament House Dawson says the choice of venue was deliberate in the hope of sending a message to the Federal Government. “Dennis and I are both quite private people when it comes to our relationship,” he said. “We thought long and hard, not so much about getting married, but about making an issue of the fact that we’re doing this. We think everybody should have this right.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 7th December 2013 - 9:27am