One thing which should never surprise us is the capacity of the ACT Government to be surprised.
The ABC reports that while the Office of Regulatory Services planned for 15 ‘civil partnerships’ between gays and lesbians each year, they’ve had 23 already in the last three months.
Apparently they’re expecting another surge based around Floriade.
One would however, expect a surge of pent up demand, which may well plateau to the expected 15 a year.
UPDATE: Simon Corbell’s media release is now online.
neanderthalsis said :
You bigot.
jakez said :
Wrong:
Rigor mortis makes me hard…
Apparently they’re expecting another surge based around Floriade.>
Pansies amongst pansies?
And before the usual suspects start accusing me of being homophobic, ultra-conservative, facist or even worse, a National party voter; it was a joke people…
Skidbladnir said :
I thought Stanhope was spoken for already…
😀
Skid wrote “Is Barr going to make use of this legislation and make an honest man out of his partner?”
Well I expect that Barr has already given his surname to his partner, many times over.
There is a pent up demand that inflates the numbers, however from my experience, most weddings seem to happen closer to the November-March period. So I’d be guessing most civil-uniters would be wanting to celebrate stuff like this in a similar period – doing some happy uniting somewhere outdoorsy is much easier and more comfortable then…
I’d suspect, though, that there might be a slightly bigger demand during this period on the services of suitably qualified celebrants – so therefore, it’s possible the usual gay partnership argument of “it doesn’t actually affect a hetrosexual marriage at all” argument will have to be modified to “it affect hetrosexual marriage to the minor effect that it might get a bit harder to get a celebrant for the day/date/time that you want”.
Damned italics, mutter.. mumble…
Deadmandrinking said :
Thumper said :
Agreed. But some people seem to think minorities don’t count.
Deadmandrinking said :
Let’s not eh?
One must remember that the 23 is a figure that has been inflated by the fact that these ceremonies have not been previously allowed. And now they are, there is a sudden influx, which is obvious. The numbers will return to a more normal level over the next six months or so.
Anyway, I think it’s about time that people have the same legal rights.
peterh said :
23 is still quite an impressive amount. How much of a minority are we ‘bending backwards’ for in terms of couples that want to get married?
And how much lower – do we really want to plumb the depths?
Thumper said :
Abs should have the numbers for marriages and unions in canberra.
and how much lower can we go?
At a guess, quite a few more than 23.
Holden Caulfield said :
I think my english just sucks.
Deadmandrinking said :
Is that an accidental tagline for RA?
jakez said :
give them time….
jakez said :
Nah, course it can…I’m just waiting for someone to start protesting about being called a bigot because they hate gays.
Does anyone know how many straight marriages or unions there are in the ACT a year? It would be interesting to get some perspective.
Deadmandrinking said :
Well this thread can’t possibly go any lower than it has.
Mr Evil said :
Isn’t that when they’ve just shat themselves?