Same-sex couples who wed in the Australian Capital Territory (Canberra) will have their marriages annulled after the High Court ruled against marriage equality laws.
A total of 27 couples, including some from interstate, used the law to tie the knot after it came into effect last weekend.
But today the High Court in Canberra unanimously ruled that the laws were inconsistent with the Federal Marriage Act, and were therefore unconstitutional.
The ruling is a victory for the Federal government, which had launched the appeal against the laws.
The ACT had argued that its laws could sit beside the federal legislation because it had defined a different type of marriage between same-sex couples.
The Court said any change to the Marriage Act must come from the Federal Government.
The conservative govt stopping people from getting married and encouraging spanking. ?
— Anne Treasure (@annetreasure) December 12, 2013
Couples saying "it's not over" as they leave the court room after High Court overturns ACT same-sex marriage law #auspol #actpol
— Lisa Cox (@_LisaMCox) December 12, 2013
