AUSTRALIA: 49% Say Businesses Should Have Right To Refuse Same-Sex Weddings On Religious Grounds

The Guardian reports:

Almost half of Australians believe service providers should have the right to refuse same-sex weddings on the basis of their religious views, a poll has found.

The Lonergan Research poll of 971 people found that 49% believed that service providers who refused same-sex weddings based on their religious views should be protected by law, compared with 35% who disagreed and 15% unsure.

Those most likely to support service providers’ ability to reject same-sex weddings were people who oppose marriage equality (76%) and people aged over 65 (65%) but even 39% of people supporting marriage equality agreed with the proposition.

In a sign that the survey result might not align with published polling, 9% of people surveyed said they had lied to or misled others about how they voted in the marriage equality survey.

Survey results are due to be released on Wednesday.