Australian
government quashes Canberra territory's marriage-equality
laws

Australia's federal government has overturned the capital territory's laws allowing gay civil unions. Atty. Gen. Philip Ruddock says the new laws will not go into effect as expected June 19, since federal laws clearly define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The new law would have given gay couples in Canberra the same rights as married couples. The opposition Labor Party says the civil union law was passed by Canberra's democratically elected government, and it shouldn't have been struck down. Last year Canada became the fourth country to legalize same-sex marriage, but its new conservative government plans on letting parliament decide the issue anew. (Sirius OutQ News)