Australians decisively support same-sex marriage

[Alizeria]

Although I support gay marriage, I was rather aghast at the bullying tactics and behaviour of the Yes campaign so I refrained from publicly siding with them.

The result is exactly as I predicted, and that's fine.

I think that the bill drafted by Senator Dean Smith appears to strike the best balance between the competing interests of marriage equality and religious freedom so hopefully that will be the bill which is passed.

[Albrenia]

The 'Yes' campaign was bullying? Huh.

I thought it was the 'No' campaign basically howling at the moon about boys in dresses, the end of the traditional family and gay overlords.

[Fauxia]

I hate the government being in marriage in the first place, so deregulation is a step forward, at least

[Liriena]

Hey, Australians did something good! :3

[Minzerland II]

It's a shame, but expected.

^^^This. I want off this ride.

[United Muscovite Nations]

It's a shame, but expected.

Such a shame that people get equal rights, yeah.

I don't think that rights exist as anything other than a social construct, so I don't really care for the idea of equal rights either. Rights are a spook that can easily be taken away by any power with sufficient force, which is virtually all of them. That is why it is foolish to trust in your fellow man to democratically protect you, and, instead better to invest in a Leviathan capable of crushing those who would challenge the status quo.

[Thermodolia]

Apparently there's people in parliament already trying to draft "religious freedom" bills to undermine it.

Ah Australia. Still trying to deprive people of freedom I see.

[Thermodolia]

Step one, complete

Assimilation nearing completion

[Cedoria]

This wasn't a binding vote. We're back to where we started four months ago. Still need a parliamentary vote to legalise it, since this was essentially just a glorified opinion poll to tell us what we already knew.

I could say I thought Turnbull had the ticker to defy religious conservatives in his own party and pass it without winding back decade old anti-discrimination protections. I doubt it though.

I hope my cynicism is wrong on the subject, but this victory proves nothing other than what we already knew, that the majority of Australians support same-sex couples marrying. If the religious right and their puppet MPs didn't care about that before now, they won't start caring as a result of this.

There's still a fight ahead I fear.

[Cedoria]

Such a shame that people get equal rights, yeah.

I don't think that rights exist as anything other than a social construct, so I don't really care for the idea of equal rights either. Rights are a spook that can easily be taken away by any power with sufficient force, which is virtually all of them. That is why it is foolish to trust in your fellow man to democratically protect you, and, instead better to invest in a Leviathan capable of crushing those who would challenge the status quo.

All well and good until the Leviathan crushes you as well. Which only a fool assumes it will never do.

[Cedoria]

The 'Yes' campaign was bullying? Huh.

I thought it was the 'No' campaign basically howling at the moon about boys in dresses, the end of the traditional family and gay overlords.

Not to mention trying to encourage a No vote on the basis of unrelated issues (Safe Schools won't change either way, and bakers won't be able to discriminate against same-sex couples because they already can't, married or no).

If they'd actually had one argument relevant to the topic, they might have had a chance. When you have to devote most of your column inches talking about issues unrelated to the actual vote question, you're in real trouble.

[Toronina]

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/samesex-marriage-postal-survey-love-has-had-a-landslide-victory-as-yes-wins-20171113-gzkk7f.html

Australians have emphatically voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage, saying "yes" to the historic social change by a substantial margin of 61.6 per cent to 38.4 per cent.

After years of political stagnation, the public has now tasked the Turnbull government with changing the law before Christmas to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Almost 80 per cent of eligible voters participated in the unprecedented voluntary postal survey, giving the verdict an authority unmatched by most elections globally.

It means Australia is poised to join 25 other countries that have granted marriage equality to gay couples, including the US, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

At street parties across the country, gay and lesbian Australians cheered, danced and embraced as the results were announced by the chief statistician on Wednesday.

It is a landmark moment in Australia's mixed civil rights record: it was one of the first countries to give women the vote, but still struggles with Indigenous reconciliation and is one of the last English-speaking democracies to legalise same-sex marriage.

The result is also a significant victory for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, of the ruling centre-right Coalition, who is a longstanding supporter of same-sex marriage and firmly believed the "yes" vote would prevail.

"Love has had a landslide victory," declared Alex Greenwich, co-chair of the Equality Campaign, from a public gathering in Sydney, where John Paul Young's classic Love Is In The Air was played.

"Getting to this point has not been easy, but rarely in your life can you celebrate with such pride overcoming adversity to make history."

Mr Greenwich said the campaign's support and momentum had exceeded all expectations, and the result had delivered "an unequivocal mandate" for politicians to vote through the change by the end of the year.

Every state and territory voted "yes" by more than 60 per cent except for NSW, where the "yes" vote was 57.8 per cent, and the "no" vote was 42.2 per cent.

The ACT had the highest "yes" vote in the country at 74 per cent, followed by Victoria at 64.9 per cent.

Participation in the survey exceeded 70 per cent across all age groups, including younger voters. Almost 80 per cent of 18- and 19-year-olds voted, the ABS revealed, with the lowest turnout (71.9 per cent) among 25- to 29-year-olds.
Mr Turnbull, speaking shortly after the results were announced, heralded the "overwhelming" support Australians had expressed for same-sex marriage.

"They voted 'yes' for fairness, commitment, love," he said. "It is unequivocal, it is overwhelming.

"And now it is up to us, here in the Parliament of Australia, to get on with it - to get on with the job the Australian people have tasked us to do, and get this done this year, before Christmas. That must be our commitment."

The PM's electorate of Wentworth, in inner-city Sydney, recorded one of the highest "yes" votes in the country at 80.8 per cent.

The results surpassed the expectations of many "yes" advocates in the government, who were eyeing a figure of 55 to 60 per cent. It almost matched the 62 per cent recorded at the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage in 2015.

Gay Liberal senator Dean Smith, who spearheaded action for same-sex marriage within the Coalition but opposed the public vote, declared it "the most important electoral mandate" Australia had ever seen.

"This is by any and every measure a huge democratic achievement for our country," he said. "I have never been more proud to stand up and represent Australian people than I was this morning when I listened to that result."

Gay Labor frontbencher Penny Wong, who pushed her own party to change its position on same-sex marriage, was hugged by colleagues in a room in Parliament House as they watched the results announcement.

Later, she thanked Australians for their "resounding" verdict and spoke of how difficult the public vote had been for the LGBTI community.

"I hope from this you can take a message of solidarity, of support, of decency from your fellow Australians," Senator Wong said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, speaking to a jubilant crowd in Melbourne, said the emphatic verdict was "not just good for marriage equality" but showed "Australians have voted for a generous view of themselves, for a modern Australia, where diversity is accepted, supported and respected.

"Today we celebrate, tomorrow we legislate."

The de facto leader of the "no" campaign, Australian Christian Lobby director Lyle Shelton, conceded defeat and said he accepted the democratic decision of the Australian people.

But he said "in a democracy, no question is ever completely closed", and held out hope of one day changing Australians' minds and redefining marriage as being between a man and a woman.

"There may be a time in the future when we can persuade our fellow Australians to that position once again," Mr Shelton said.

Debate inside and outside Parliament will now turn to the legislation to enact the change. A bill by Senator Smith, endorsed by Mr Turnbull, will be introduced into the Senate this week, and fierce argument is expected over religious exemptions in the coming parliamentary fortnight.

The PM said he expected a "very lively debate" that would showcase "Parliament at its best".

So thats it then. Australia, in a non binding postal survey voted yes 61.6% to 38.4% to same sex marriage. Now lies the question of, what will Parliament vote for? In my honest opinion, I am happy to see so much of Australia vote yes. It shows we are slowly progressing as a nation, and that the bullshit from the no campaign didn't fool many. I would love to see same sex marriage, and not the bill that would roll back discrimination laws, be passed by Parliament, and considering how many electorates voted yes, I am eager to see how some of the more conservative MPs react.

I would like to see the opinion of NS though. Did you vote yes if you are Australian? Or did you vote no?
If you aren't, would you have voted yes? Or would you have voted no? I voted yes myself

[Albrenia]

Voted yes, and I want the bill which only passes the allowance of marriage to pass. No religious stuff, since we were not voting on that.

I voted yes because people deserve equal rights, and 'freedom of religion' does not include the freedom to deny someone their right to equal status.

[Cetacea]

This wasn't a binding vote. We're back to where we started four months ago. Still need a parliamentary vote to legalise it, since this was essentially just a glorified opinion poll to tell us what we already knew.

I could say I thought Turnbull had the ticker to defy religious conservatives in his own party and pass it without winding back decade old anti-discrimination protections. I doubt it though.

I hope my cynicism is wrong on the subject, but this victory proves nothing other than what we already knew, that the majority of Australians support same-sex couples marrying. If the religious right and their puppet MPs didn't care about that before now, they won't start caring as a result of this.

There's still a fight ahead I fear.

Momentum is a great thing and even hough their may still be obstacles in the way at lest the ball is now rolling in the right direction. All those relunctant supporters in the silent majority now know that they aren't alone and that they can push things forward without fear of marginalisation.

Go Australia - onward to a Fabulous Christmas we everyone can be happy and gay

[Othelos]

It's a shame, but expected.

^^^This. I want off this ride.

why?

[The Alma Mater]

Apparently there's people in parliament already trying to draft "religious freedom" bills to undermine it.

One assumes that "religious freedom" in this case means "obey strict christian doctrine" and not "of course we recognise your pagan wedding" ?

[FelrikTheDeleted]

Apparently there's people in parliament already trying to draft "religious freedom" bills to undermine it.

One assumes that "religious freedom" in this case means "obey strict christian doctrine" and not "of course we recognise your pagan wedding" ?

More along the lines of that cake controversy from what I hear.

[The Alma Mater]

One assumes that "religious freedom" in this case means "obey strict christian doctrine" and not "of course we recognise your pagan wedding" ?

More along the lines of that cake controversy from what I hear.

Ah, the right to refuse to do your job as a civil servant when it clashes with your religious beliefs ? That will be nice...

"According to my religion women are unfit to drive. I can therefor not hand you your driverslicense"

Or they could do it like in the Netherlands, where it only applies to marriage and only to civil servants who already had a contract before the law was changed.
Downside of that is that over 15 years later you still have a few of those around.

[Othelos]

More along the lines of that cake controversy from what I hear.

Ah, the right to refuse to do your job as a civil servant when it clashes with your religious beliefs ? That will be nice...

"According to my religion women are unfit to drive. I can therefor not hand you your driverslicense"

Or they could do it like in the Netherlands, where it only applies to marriage and only to civil servants who already had a contract before the law was changed.
Downside of that is that over 15 years later you still have a few of those around.

My question is why their religious beliefs have any bearing on someone else's life.

Don't like gay marriage? Don't get gay married. Don't believe in women driving? If you're a woman, don't drive. Otherwise, it's none of their business.

[Errinundera]

Good to see my fellow Australians plant one foot firmly in the 21st century. Now, let's see our elected representatives follow us.

A bill for marriage equality, with broad parliamentary support, was introduced into Parliament today. The PM hopes to have it passed by Christmas.

[The Interstellar Federation]

I'm really glad it was a Yes vote but I'm kind of disappointed that almost 40% of the population voted No. I don't see any harms that could come out of having same-sex marriage. Furthermore, this postal vote was a colossal waste of money, all $122 million of it.

[Minzerland II]

^^^This. I want off this ride.

why?

Because I do not support gay marriage?

[Albrenia]

why?

Because I do not support gay marriage?

So you want 'off this ride', whatever that may mean, because other people can get married?

Ok.

[Minzerland II]

Because I do not support gay marriage?

So you want 'off this ride', whatever that may mean, because other people can get married?

Ok.

That was meant to be a meme, friend. Although, that wouldn't be such a bad idea either.

[Albrenia]

So you want 'off this ride', whatever that may mean, because other people can get married?

Ok.

That was meant to be a meme, friend. Although, that wouldn't be such a bad idea either.

Ah, that makes more sense then.

Thanks for explaining.