Western Australia Passes Gay Rights Bill

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The lower house of the Western Australian state parliament on Wednesday passed a contentious bill aimed at removing discrimination against gays and lesbians.
The bill lowers the gay age of consent from 21 years to 16 and allows same-sex couples equal access to adoption procedures and in vitro fertilization treatment.
It also gives same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in areas such as the transfer of property, medical treatment and inheritance upon the death of a partner.
It was passed after a marathon 16-hour sitting of the House of Representatives. The Labor government pursued the bill following a 47-point advisory committee report which said discrimination in Western Australia against gays and lesbians was widespread.
Debate on the bill in the parliament was heated, with the Opposition claiming that lowering the age of consent would allow pedophiles to justify their behavior.
The adoption and IVF clauses of the bill were also the subject of vehement opposition.

Outside parliament, debate has also been widespread, with some 2,000 people opposed to the bill protesting outside parliament last month.

The bill will be introduced into the Upper House later this week where it is expected to be passed with support from the left-wing Greens Party.

Homosexual sex was decriminalized in Australia in May 1984. In the nation's five other states and two territories, the age of consent for gay sex ranges from 16 years to 18 years.

Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria states ban donor insemination services to lesbians. Queensland also bans gays and lesbians from foster parenting.

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