Nearly two-thirds of Australians supported gay marriage in a postal survey that ensures Parliament will consider legalizing same-sex weddings this year, although the form any law would take and its allowances for religious objections sparked immediate debate.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday that 62 per cent of registered voters who responded in the unprecedented mail survey favoured reform. The conservative government promised to allow a bill creating marriage equality to be considered in Parliament in the final two-week session that is due to end on Dec. 7.
A 鈥渘o鈥� vote in the survey would have put marriage equality off the political agenda, perhaps for years. Thousands of marriage equality supporters waving rainbow flags gathered anxiously in city parks around the country and cheered when the results was announced.
The mood was relief rather than exhilaration when the result was announced in a park in the national capital, said Tanna Winter, 30. Canberra demonstrated Australia鈥檚 highest level of support for same-sex marriage, with only one in four responses opposing it.
鈥淭he polls said that Brexit wouldn鈥檛 happen, the polls said that Hillary would win and I sort of thought this felt like Australia鈥檚 time to show everyone that we鈥檙e backward too,鈥� Winter said hours later over a celebratory beer.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 do it and we didn鈥檛 do it in pretty good fashion. That鈥檚 a nice relief, a nice moment to be proven wrong,鈥� he added.
His friend Sam James, 31, quipped: 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for the Russians to interfere with a paper survey鈥濃�� a reference to Russia鈥檚 suspected meddling in the U.S. presidential election.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a vocal advocate of marriage equality, called on lawmakers to heed the 鈥渙verwhelming鈥� result and to commit to legislate for gay marriage by next month.
鈥淭hey voted 鈥榶es鈥� for fairness, they voted 鈥榶es鈥� for commitment, they voted 鈥榶es鈥� for love,鈥� Turnbull told reporters. 鈥淣ow 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 鈥� that must be our commitment.鈥�
Congratulations to Australia on their incredible show of support for ! What an amazing achievement for the Australian LGBTIQ* Community.
鈥� New Zealand Labour (@nzlabour)
鉂わ笍馃挍馃挌馃挋馃挏
Some government lawmakers have vowed to vote down gay marriage regardless of the survey鈥檚 outcome. But the survey found a majority of voters in 133 of the 150 districts in the House of Representatives wanted reform.
Lawmakers opposed to gay marriage are already moving to wind back anti-discrimination laws, with debate in Australia intensifying over the possibility of gay wedding boycotts and refusals to provide a celebrant, venue, flowers or a cake.
Several government lawmakers on Monday released a draft gay marriage bill, proposed by senator James Paterson, that critics argue would diminish current protections for gays against discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.
Government senator Dean Smith on Wednesday introduced a separate bill to the Senate favoured by Turnbull that ruled out any compromise that would cost gays and lesbians their existing protections against discrimination. Smith鈥檚 bill permits only churches and ministers of religion to boycott same-sex weddings.
鈥淚f there are amendments, let鈥檚 see them, but let鈥檚 be clear about this: Australians did not participate in a survey to have one discrimination plank removed, to have other planks of discrimination piled upon them,鈥� Smith told reporters.
Fiona McLeod, president of the Law Council Of Australia, the nation鈥檚 peak lawyers group, said Paterson鈥檚 bill 鈥渨ould encroach on Australia鈥檚 long-established anti-discrimination protections in a dangerous and unprecedented way.鈥�
Lyle Shelton, spokesman for Coalition for Marriage which lobbied against the reform, said his group favoured Paterson鈥檚 bill.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone who voted in this postal survey wants to see their fellow Australians put up on hate speech charges,鈥� Shelton said. 鈥淲e need to protect freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and also freedom of religion.鈥�
鈥淵es鈥� voter Peter Kensey, 36, said while he was celebrating the win with Winter and James in Canberra tonight, there was apprehension in the gay community about what form the law would take.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 why today hasn鈥檛 been a huge celebration,鈥� Kensey said. 鈥淵ou wonder if you鈥檙e going to be screwed over at the very last stage.鈥�
Ireland is the only other country to put same-sex marriage to a popular vote, but that referendum was binding. Irish voters in 2015 changed their constitution to allow marriage equality.
In Australia, voting in elections and referenda is compulsory, but the Senate refused to fund a binding vote. Almost 80 per cent of more than 16 million registered voters posted ballots in the voluntary survey, which gay marriage advocates opposed as an unnecessary obstacle and opponents derided as being about a boutique issue of little public interest.
The U.N. Human Rights Committee last week criticized Australia for putting gays and lesbians 鈥渢hrough an unnecessary and divisive public opinion poll.鈥� The committee called on Australia to legislate for marriage equality regardless of the survey鈥檚 outcome.
Love wins in Australia! Thrilled to hear Australians have voted in favour of legalizing same-sex marriage.
鈥� Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau)
Rod McGuirk, The Associated Press
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