December 05, 2013 - 9:52 PM
CANBERRA, Australia - A state lawmaker and his partner plan to fly 3,500 kilometres (2,200 miles) across Australia to become one of the nation's first same-sex couples to legally marry at an after-midnight ceremony in the Australian capital.
Stephen Dawson, a member of the opposition Labor Party in the Western Australian Parliament, and partner Dennis Liddelow are among at least two gay couples planning ceremonies in Canberra at 12:01 a.m. Saturday — the earliest opportunity under the provincial government's landmark gay marriage laws.
Australia's first gay marriages could be short lived, with the High Court to rule Thursday on a federal government challenge to the validity of the Australian Capital Territory law.
Dawson says he and his partner decided on the late-night wedding so that they could be married as long as possible.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013