Australian Senate passes ban on gay marriage

SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s Parliament passed a bill protecting the traditional definition of marriage Aug. 13, giving Prime Minister John Howard — an opponent of same-sex marriage — a big victory.

The new law, which passed the Australian Senate 38–7, reads in part, “[M]arriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.”

The bill was in reaction to same-sex marriage laws in other parts of the world. Three Canadian provinces and one American state (Massachusetts) recognize same-sex marriage, as do the Netherlands and Belgium.