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Minister coins new phrase for non-gay marriage

AAP

AAP

Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has been slammed for a social media post claiming he supports “marriage integrity”.

The tweet, written at the weekend, is in response to the recent controversial marriage equality debate, with some pushing to legalise same-sex marriage in parliament.

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Earlier in June, he said he wanted Australia to take a “breather” on the issue, but said those who didn’t support a change were not “homophobes”.

Some social media users were not impressed with Mr Morrison creating his own term which described a marriage between a man and a woman.

Meanwhile, the NSW Presbyterian Church has proposed the withdrawal of the “whole church from the Marriage Act” if the federal parliament moves to legalise same-sex marriage, The Australian reported.

If the move is adopted, a couple would marry legally in a registry, then go to the church for a ceremonial “church wedding’’.

The proposal comes as Tasmanian gay rights activist Martine Delaney — who yesterday confirmed she would run as a Greens candidate for the federal seat of Franklin — pursued a legal claim against the Catholic Church over a pastoral letter ­explaining its opposition to the redefinition of marriage.

Liberal MPs on Monday said there was a growing sentiment to defuse the divisive nature of the marriage debate by exploring ­alternative models, including a possible plebiscite, that addressed the exposure of priests and ministers to discrimination claims, The Australian reported.

NSW assembly moderator Kevin Murray told The Australian the church was concerned about exposure to possible discrimination action, but said the main reason was a reluctance to “take part in something that is really not marriage”.

“A couple would go to the civil registry. They would get married there. That’s the legal marriage and then they would go to a church and have a church wedding,” he said.

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