Tag Archives: marriage equality

The New York Times reports: A solid majority of Australians voted in favor of same-sex marriage in a historic survey that, while not binding, paves the way for Parliament to legally recognize the unions of gay and lesbian couples. Of 12.7 million Australians who took part in the survey, 61.6 percent voted yes and 38.4 percent voted no, officials announced …

Moments after the survey result was announced, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appeared before national cameras and vowed his intention to get a same-sex marriage bill through Parliament by Christmas. Watch below. Earlier today, Turnbull denounced right wing plans to laden the bill with “religious liberty” amendments which would legalize anti-LGBT discrimination by wedding-related businesses. According to Turnbull, such amendments …

Moments ago the top officer in Australia’s federal statistics bureau revealed that the result of the non-binding postal survey on same-sex marriage is a landslide WIN for the YES side by 24 points. Members of Parliament are expected to quickly introduce a marriage bill that could see legalization in place as soon as Christmas. But…as always…the haters will try every …

The highly-anticipated result of Australia’s non-compulsory postal survey on same-sex marriage will be announced at 6PM New York City time, which is 10AM tomorrow in Sydney. Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: The man with the golden envelope, containing the final tally, will be Australian Statistician David W. Kalisch. Ahead of the public announcement, Mr Kalisch will inform Finance Minister Mathias …

The Guardian reports: The government “would not countenance” legalising discrimination against same-sex weddings and a bill to do so would have “virtually no prospect” of passing parliament, Malcolm Turnbull has said in an extraordinary rebuke of conservatives demanding the rollback of anti-discrimination laws. As conservative Coalition MPs and senators rallied around the same-sex marriage bill released on Monday by Liberal …

Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: He is the global trotting, career public servant with an eye-watering pay packet who tries to fly under the radar. But on Wednesday morning, at the dot of 10, all eyes will be on Australia’s numbers man-in-chief, David W. Kalisch. Grandly titled the “Australian Statistician”, Mr Kalisch heads the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and …

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% …

Reuters reports: The Kentucky county clerk who drew worldwide attention for her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples two years ago will run for re-election next year, her attorney said on Tuesday. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis will run to retain her seat in 2018 despite suggestions from some people that she run for a higher local or …

Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: And now, it’s over to the vote counters, and the politicians. The $122 million same-sex marriage survey closes tonight, with final Australian Bureau of Statistics figures revealing 12.6 million Australians voted in the poll. With just hours until the survey closes, that’s a return rate of 78.5 per cent as of last Friday. The final …

Back in June, after more than six months of near daily money begs and incessant cries of impending victory due to the election of Donald Trump, NOM’s fifth annual anti-LGBT marriage march in Washington DC drew a hilarious 47 attendees (“including babies”) according to a count done by one of our friends on Twitter. So of course, Hate March 2018 …

Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network is weighing on Australia’s marriage battle in typical fashion, giving voice to the extremist Party For Freedom, which typically rails against blacks, Muslims, refugees, and immigrants. Australia’s Party For Freedom is an offshoot of Dutch extremist Geert Wilders’ party of the same name and their stunts included “storming” Muslim-friendly Christian churches while dressed as Muslim …

Just in via email: My name is Alfie Arcuri and I’m the first openly gay winner of The Voice Australia. I am big fan of your blog and it would be awesome if you had the time to share my video Love is Love.  I am a strong advocate for the gay and lesbian community and I perform and dedicate …

The Air Force Times reports: An Air Force colonel who refused to sign a certificate of appreciation for the same-sex spouse of a retiring master sergeant in his command claims he was wrongly disciplined for holding to his religious beliefs. Following the May incident, the master sergeant filed an Equal Opportunity complaint alleging that Col. Leland Bohannon, then-commander of the …

The West Australian reports: Conservative MPs believe up to 100 amendments are needed to a same-sex marriage Bill being proposed if the Yes vote succeeds, posing a major test for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as he seeks to manage an emerging partyroom split. With expectations growing that the Yes vote will be successful next month, conservative MPs are preparing a …

Courthouse News Service reports: A federal judge ruled Monday that Kentucky taxpayers are still on the hook for attorney fees for the couples who sued Kim Davis, a county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage. In July, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Kentucky to pay …

The Guardian reports: Cory Bernardi does not accept there will be an overwhelming “yes” vote in the same-sex marriage postal survey, with more than 70% of forms returned. The Australian Conservatives leader said he believed people were pressured by political correctness and were saying they voted “yes”, even if they had voted “no”. “I’m not even conceding defeat quite frankly,” …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Gay couples – but not straight ones – will be able to marry for free in some of the City of Sydney’s most prominent buildings and parks, in a move that will outrage the progressive council’s conservative critics. A motion passed on Monday night will allow same-sex couples to hire community facilities, halls and parks …

HuffPo Australia reports: Former Prime Minister and current backbencher Tony Abbott will once again address a controversial American Christian organisation which has been deemed a “hate group” and supports the criminalisation of homosexuality. The Australian Financial Review revealed on Thursday that Abbott, the member for Warringah, will travel to the United States later this month to deliver a speech to …

From the Facebook page of attorney Helmut Graupner: In a decision of 12 October just delivered, the Austrian Constitutional Court followed all my arguments and reversed its case-law (that segregation in marriage and registered partnerships is admissible.) I am representing five children (and their same-gender parents) arguing that the marriage ban stigmatizes the children as illegitimate and the families as …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: President Trump hailed conservatives at the Heritage Foundation known for opposition to LGBT rights Tuesday night as “titans in the fight to defend, promote and preserve our great American heritage.” “Everyone here tonight understands a core truth, that for America to have confidence in our future, we must have pride in our history,” …