A Dubbo woman has rejected Coalition for Marriage claims that voting “yes” in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey will introduce “radical gay sex and gender programs in schools” and undermine freedom of speech and faith.
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Kris Stevens, an advocate for same-sex marriage, said “more rights for some does not mean less rights for others”.
“The survey is about allowing two same-sex-attracted individuals, in a loving and committed relationship, to have the same rights and recognition under Australian law as straight couples already enjoy,” she said.
With Friday the recommended final date for posting the survey forms, the “yes” and “no” campaigns are urging participation. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported this week that almost three quarters, or 74.5 per cent of 16 million eligible Australians, had returned their survey forms.
The Coalition for Marriage, lobbying Australians to mark the “no” box on their survey forms, has committed to fighting for “every last vote”. “More and more Australians are coming to understand that saying ‘yes’ to gay marriage means saying ‘yes’ to radical gay sex and gender programs in schools, and saying ‘no’ to freedom of speech and freedom of faith,” Coalition for Marriage spokesman Lyle Shelton said this week.
But Ms Stevens said the survey was not about the Safe Schools Program that “will be taught in schools if the government endorses and funds it”. “Same-sex couples can already adopt, foster, use IVF or a surrogate to have children now,” she said. “The religious freedoms already enjoyed by churches, in relation to who they choose to marry and who they won’t, will remain the same and … it will not challenge traditional marriage, whatever that is, because straight couples will still be able to have this, as they do now.”
Mr Shelton has thanked the “millions of Australians” supporting the “no” campaign. “Our incredible volunteers have achieved so much and their energy and spirits remain high,” he said. “They continue to conduct themselves with integrity, even in the face of intimidation, threats and abuse.”
The Equality Campaign, promoting the marking of the “yes” box, is urging Australians to post their survey forms “before it’s too late”. “This is simply a matter of equality under the law, and this issue will not go away until the law has been changed,” Ms Stevens said.