As Australians fight for marriage equality, there is still some opposition. But a recent poll shows the numbers are astonishingly in favor. They are so astonishing because they are better than some nations that currently allow same-sex marriages.
The survey by the Liberal Party's national pollster finds support for marriage equality is increasing among Australians, up from 65 per cent in a Nielsen poll last August.
It shows opposition to same-sex marriage has collapsed, with just one in five Australians or 21 per cent opposed, marking Parliament as increasingly out of step with the views of the majority of Australians.
According to the poll, support for same-sex marriage is now higher in Australia than it was in any other country, including New Zealand and Great Britain, when overseas parliaments have passed marriage equality laws.
The poll found that a majority of voters across a range of demographics and in almost every age group backed marriage reform.
A majority of respondents in each Australian state said they wanted to see marriage equality, as did a majority of Australians who identified with major religions, including Catholic, Anglican and non-Christian religions.
An overwhelming 85 per cent of respondents with children were pro-marriage equality.
The lowest results came from Australians aged over 65, at 48 per cent, and men over 55, at 42 per cent, but according to Crosby Textor more people in those groups were in favour of marriage equality than were opposed, with a significant proportion saying they were undecided. – smh.com.au
Titled ‘It’s Not As Simple As You Think’, the ad depicts an iceberg (marriage equality) and an oncoming ship about to go all Titanic (the doomed future of Australian society), and says: “It’s time to step back and consider all the issues around same-sex marriage – like how it will affect children, or sex education in schools, or even what rights you could lose.” We are then advised to visit their website, where absolutely no questions are answered (unless you consider more questions as answers?), except for the exact hour when the latest marriage equality bill is being voted on with an analog clock plugin they probably feel very clever about using.
Ten denied to comment on the issue, stating that due to company policy they “do not talk about [our] commercial arrangements”, and a spokesperson for Seven simply said: “We couldn’t accommodate their booking request. That’s about it.” But Sophie York, a spokesperson for Marriage Alliance and a Liberal Party member because of course she is, thinks (realises) the responses are deliberately aloof. “The fact they couldn’t fit it in just didn’t make sense… and it was a last-minute withdrawal. It’s actually inexplicable,” she says, of a rather explainable issue. – junkee.com
Here is the ad at that couldn't find room on two Australian television stations.
Scheduling conflicts? We'll take that reasoning! Even though you could not come out and say these ads were wrong and discriminatory, kudos to Ten and Seven for standing up for what is right.
So what is holding up Australia from achieving marriage equality? With such public and media support, what is holding back the nation from moving forward?
'We don't want this to fail again – we want a debate which has the capacity of a bill passing, and marriage equality being achieved,'' Senator Wong told ABC radio on Monday.
Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome said: "With Australians across all key demographics supporting marriage equality in record numbers, it's fair to say the public has made up its mind, the community debate has been won, and it's time for politicians to act." – smh.com.au
