Australia's prime minister rushed gay marriage into law on Friday by gaining a final signature on a bill hours after it was overwhelming endorsed by Parliament and as the nation started planning weddings that can take place in a month.
Members of parliament, from left, Cathy McGowan, Adam Brandt and Andrew Wilkie celebrate the passing of the Marriage Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull traveled to Government House where Governor-General Peter Cosgrove signed the bill into law on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, Australia's constitutional head of state.
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Australia's prime minister rushed gay marriage into law on Friday by gaining a final signature on a bill hours after it was overwhelming endorsed by Parliament and as the nation started planning weddings that can take place in a month.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull traveled to Government House where Governor-General Peter Cosgrove signed the bill into law on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, Australia's constitutional head of state.
Cosgrove's signature makes gay marriage legal in Australia from Saturday, when same-sex couples who wed overseas will be recognized as married under Australian law. Couples who intend to marry must give a calendar-month notice, making gay weddings legal on Jan. 9, Turnbull said.
Some practical reasons to marry become pressing with age. Relatives have contested wills that left estates to same-sex partners, and gays and lesbians want rights to access and medical consultation when a partner is hospitalized.
"The reason is to have a legal relationship that's not in any way challenged — and, of course, we love each other," Wills said. "We'll get the legal relationship straightened out in January. Call it a wedding if you like, I'm not romantic," he added.
Turnbull described Parliament voting late Thursday for gay marriage, with only four lawmakers registering their opposition, as a historic moment.
Turnbull has been a long-term advocate for marriage equality and is the first prime minister to attend Sydney's renowned annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which is also in his electorate.
Same-sex marriage campaigners and volunteers cheer as they call on politicians to pass marriage equality legislation during rally outside Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)
Cosgrove's signature makes gay marriage legal in Australia from Saturday, when same-sex couples who wed overseas will be recognized as married under Australian law. Couples who intend to marry must give a calendar-month notice, making gay weddings legal on Jan. 9, Turnbull said.
Neville Wills, 98, plans to marry his partner of 39 years, Ian Fenwicke, 74, next month.
Opposition Labor Party Senator Penny Wong, left, celebrates with former Olympic champion swimmer Ian Thorpe, center, and Sen. Janet Rice at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)
Some practical reasons to marry become pressing with age. Relatives have contested wills that left estates to same-sex partners, and gays and lesbians want rights to access and medical consultation when a partner is hospitalized.
Australian Sen. Louise Pratt, left, kisses actress Magda Szubanski at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)
"The reason is to have a legal relationship that's not in any way challenged — and, of course, we love each other," Wills said. "We'll get the legal relationship straightened out in January. Call it a wedding if you like, I'm not romantic," he added.
Australian former Olympic champion swimmer Ian Thorpe addresses reporters at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)
Turnbull described Parliament voting late Thursday for gay marriage, with only four lawmakers registering their opposition, as a historic moment.
"Containing my emotions to a suitable, prime ministerial level of calm is quite challenging. I am absolutely pumped. I think this is so wonderful," he said after Parliament passed the bill and the public gallery erupted with a standing ovation.
Celebrations continued late into the night in Oxford Street, the center of Sydney's gay nightlife which is in Turnbull's electorate.
Australian former Olympic champion swimmer Ian Thorpe addresses reporters at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)
Turnbull has been a long-term advocate for marriage equality and is the first prime minister to attend Sydney's renowned annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which is also in his electorate.
Hours after Parliament's action, a Sydney municipal council offered free venues to host same-sex marriages.
Australian actress Magda Szubanski celebrates at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)
The Inner West Council is accepting bookings for same-sex marriages in its halls, community centers and parks at no charge over a 100-day period from Jan. 7.
"This is an historic day in the struggle for civil rights in Australia," Mayor Darcy Byrne said.
It follows the downtown Sydney municipality's decision in October to offer free venues for same-sex weddings should they become lawful.
The Australian Capital Territory government, which administers Canberra, the national capital, introduced its own same-sex marriage law in 2013 that was overturned by the High Court within a week.
ACT Attorney General Gordon Ramsay said his government would waive the 55 Australian dollar ($41) cost of wedding certificate for any of the 31 same-sex couples whose short-lived marriages were ruled invalid and want to marry again.
"It's a way of being able to acknowledge the difficulties that some of those couples have been through," Ramsay told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Anne-Marie Delahunt, who married her partner Meg Clark in Canberra in 2013, said she would take up the government's offer when they marry again in February.
"I think it was a touching measure from the ACT Government to say that our second marriage certificate will be free," Delahunt told ABC.
Gay marriage was endorsed by 62 percent of voters who responded to a national postal ballot by November.
Most gay rights advocates believed the government should have allowed marriages years ago and saw various ideas for a public survey as a delaying tactic. The U.N. Human Rights Committee had called the ballot survey "an unnecessary and divisive public opinion poll."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of three large public school systems strongly denied allegations that they let antisemitism run rampant in their schools, telling a congressional panel Wednesday that they are fighting it with education and, when necessary, discipline.
As part of a series of hearings on antisemitism, a House Education and Workforce subcommittee sought testimony from leaders of the New York City Public Schools, the Berkeley Unified School District in California and the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.
“Let me be clear — we do not shy away from imposing consequences for hateful behavior, including antisemitism,” said Karla Silvestre, the board president of the suburban Maryland school system.
The first of the antisemitism hearings to focus on K-12 education comes amid a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests that have washed across dozens of U.S. universities and a growing number of high schools.
The committee's hearings have been heated, with the first one in December precipitating the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. Most recently, the testimony of Columbia University’s president, Minouche Shafik, escalated into weeks of protests that spread well beyond her campus.
In an opening statement, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., said antisemitism has become a “dominant force” in America's schools, with students as young as second-graders “spewing Nazi propaganda.”
“You’ve been accused of doing nothing and turning a blind eye," he said.
Chancellor David Banks from New York questioned whether the panel's actions had brought schools any closer to address antisemitism on campuses.
"This convening, for too many people across America in education, feels like the ultimate ‘gotcha’ moment," he said. “It doesn’t sound like people who are actually trying to solve for something that I believe we should be doing everything we can to solve for.”
Banks cited actions his district has taken, including student suspensions and employee terminations. But he also emphasized the role of education, saying the district is building a new curriculum on the contributions of the Jewish community, along with separate lessons about hate crimes and bias.
“We cannot simply discipline our way out of this problem,” Banks said. “The true antidote to ignorance and bias is to teach.”
Silvestre described a similar approach in Montgomery County. Classrooms have more lessons on the Jewish experience, and the district will now require “hate-based training” for all staff, she said. Teachers who don't provide a safe learning environment “will not remain in Montgomery County public schools,” she said.
Each of the leaders acknowledged a rise in antisemitism, but Berkeley Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel denied that it has become “pervasive." Since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, her district has received complaints of antisemitism arising from nine incidents within the district's jurisdiction, she said.
“We take action to teach, correct and redirect our students,” she said. “We do not publish our actions because student information is private and legally protected under federal and state law. As a result, some believe we do nothing. This is not true.”
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., criticized Republicans for their focus on antisemitism in liberal school districts while ignoring statements by Donald Trump. In the latest example of the former president's use of the language of Nazi Germany in his campaign rhetoric, Trump told Republican donors at his Florida resort last weekend that President Joe Biden is running a “Gestapo administration."
“If my colleagues cared about antisemitism they would condemn and denounce these comments from the leader of their party,” Bonamici said in her opening remarks.
Echoing a tactic from the previous hearings, Republican lawmakers peppered the school leaders with questions about what they consider antisemitic. Asked if the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic, all three generally said yes, though with some equivocation.
“It is if it is calling for the elimination of the Jewish people in Israel," Ford Morthel said. “And I will also say that I recognize that it does have different meanings.”
Republicans demanded tougher consequences for teachers and principals accused of antisemitism. They repeatedly confronted Banks over the case of a high school principal who was reassigned but not fired after a chaotic student demonstration protesting a pro-Israel teacher.
Banks said it was “clearly an act of antisemitism,” and some students were suspended. The principal was removed from the school “for a lack of leadership" and moved to an administrative role.
Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, questioned that outcome, saying “we want results.”
“I’m hearing nice words, really nice words here: teaching, redirecting, directing," Owens said. "What I’m missing is discipline, and I'm missing the word ‘fired.’”
Pressed on firings and suspensions, Silvestre said Montgomery County has taken “disciplinary action” against some teachers, but none has been fired. Bean suggested that wasn't good enough: “So you allow them to continue to teach hate,” he said.
Banks seemed critical of how previous hearings had quickly been reduced to viral moments and video clips.
“I fundamentally believe that if we truly care about solving for antisemitism, you don’t do it through cheap political theater and cheap soundbites," he said. "Putting a spotlight on any particular individual and sometimes trying to create gotcha moments and viral moments is not how you ultimately solve problems you deeply care about.”
Both New York City and Montgomery Public Schools are subjects of Education Department civil rights investigations into allegations of antisemitism. Both cases center on whether the districts responded to harassment of students in a manner consistent with Title VI, which prevents harassment based on shared ancestry.
In February, the Brandeis Center, a Jewish legal advocacy organization, filed a complaint with the department's Office of Civil Rights, citing incidents of bullying and harassment of Jewish students in the Berkeley district, including one instance where the phrase “Kill Jews” was found written in a high school bathroom.
In a statement, Ford Morthel said she “did not seek this invitation" but would testify.
“Berkeley Unified celebrates our diversity and stands against all forms of hate and othering, including antisemitism and Islamophobia," the statement said. "We strive every day to ensure that our classrooms are respectful, humanizing, and joyful places for all our students, where they are welcomed, seen, valued, and heard.”
All three districts, in predominantly liberal areas, have diverse student populations and a sizable Jewish American community.
In a lawsuit filed against Montgomery County Public Schools by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, three teachers alleged the district placed them on leave and investigated them because they expressed pro-Palestinian sentiments, some of which were on their personal social media pages.
Student-led Pro-Palestinian protests have taken place in high schools across the country, including in the three districts that will appear before Congress. The demonstrations include walkouts during school hours, and like their college counterparts, include the question of whether certain phrases — including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” which can mean widely different things to different groups — cross the line into antisemitism.
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People including a man wearing a kippah watch an interaction between David Banks, the Chancellor of New York Public Schools, seated at nightside of the table, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., back right, during a Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, attends a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
David Banks, chancellor of New York Public schools, answers a question during a House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A woman wearing a Star of David necklace attends a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, by the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., hołds up a printout that she claims was from a New York City public school teacher's social media account, during a Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Kobie Talmoud, 16, left, a student at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Md., speaks with Karla Silvestre, President of the Montgomery Count (Md.) Board of Education, after a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, by the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., Chair of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, speaks during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Enikia Ford Morthel, Superintendent of the Berkeley United School District, speaks during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, with the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York Public schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, President of the Montgomery Count (Md.) Board of Education, Emerson Sykes, Staff Attorney with the ACLU, and Enikia Ford Morthel, Superintendent of the Berkeley United School District, during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
David Banks, the Chancellor of New York Public Schools, answers a question during a Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., accompanied other members of Congress speaks to the media after they toured the George Washington University students encampment as they protest over the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
