by Rex Wockner
International News Briefs
There will be no change in Australia's policy of attempting to block its gay citizens from getting married in other countries, the government said in late July. Australia will continue to withhold the "Certificates of Non-Impediment to Marriage" that sometimes are needed before foreigners are allowed to marry in other nations.
In an Aug. 2 media release, the group Australian Marriage Equality called the policy "mean-spirited" and said AME is contemplating a challenge before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
"As if it's not bad enough that the government's ban on same-sex marriages forces hundreds of Australians to marry overseas every year, often at great expense and without their families and friends present, the government still wants to reach around the world in an effort to stop these Australians marrying," said AME convener Alex Greenwich.
