Former Australian PM John Howard defends ‘traditional marriage’
John Howard has defended his legacy on “traditional marriage”.
The former Prime Minister of Australia said he doesn’t believe changes should be decided by the courts.
Mr Howard said he believes any changes that are made to the law regarding same-sex marriage should be made by the people, not the courts.
In 2004, Mr Howard said his government updated the Marriage Act to ensure that the ceremony was between a man and a woman and any changes made to the “centuries old” approach should not be left to the courts, but to the people.
He also criticised the US Supreme Court ruling regarding same-sex marriage.
Mr Howard told Sky News on Thursday: “Judges have no greater wisdom on these matters.”
“America I admire a great deal, but it’s a bad state of affairs where these sorts of things can be determined by a court.” He continued.
He also criticised pro-gay marriage Liberal MP’s. He said they used “superficial” language in their campaign for change, saying that conservatives also needed to be heard.
Mr Howard said: “Polls change.”
He also previously argued in 2007 that he believed gay and lesbian couples should not be given the same rights as heterosexual couples.
He said that the issue is “complicated” but that he does not feel gay couples are entitled to equal rights.
