Australian Marriage Equality (AME) welcomes the initiative of the South Australian Government to introduce a bill recognising same-sex marriages.

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The Relationships Register Bill 2016 was introduced today by an assistant to the premier, Katrine Hildyard. It will recognise same-sex and de facto relationships formed overseas.

AME Co-Chair Alex Greenwich said, “We congratulate the South Australian government for doing what they can to recognise overseas same-sex marriages.”

“While this legislation does not achieve marriage equality it will provide a sense of security to LGBTI couples travelling to this country.

“The sad irony of this legislation is that South Australia along with other states will recognise same-sex couples married overseas, however LGBTI couples wanting to marry in Australia must wait.

“This is just another example of the overwhelming support marriage equality has in this country and again we call on the government to work together to achieve marriage equality without delay,” Mr Greenwich said.

AME would also like to welcome Marco Bulmer-Rizzi back to the country and thank him for his support for marriage equality in Australia.

“Mr Bulmer-Rizzi’s tragic experience shows the urgent need for marriage equality. Whether you are an Australian citizen or visiting our great country as a tourist, the hurt and sadness of losing a spouse should not be compounded by the failure of the government to recognise your marriage,” Mr Greenwich said.

Mr Bulmer- Rizzi said, “I feel like this will bring some sort of closure to me and that David will hopefully be proud.”

“I worry that a plebiscite would promote hate speech in this country and that instead, your government should vote for marriage equality.”

Photo by By Marcin n® [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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