Australia Senate throws out gay marriage

The Australian Senate has thrown out an attempt to legalize same-sex marriage. A Bill that would have allowed gays to marry was defeated comprehensively.

There were 45 votes against and only 5 votes for, with 26 senators, more than a third, failing to show up. It is being speculated that some of the senators absent from the vote may have stayed away because they were uncomfortable with their parties’ official stance on same-sex marriage. Senator Hanson-Young say: “There may have been a group of senators voting to keep discrimination against same-sex couples being able to marry the one they love, but well over one-third of all senators were absent for the final vote, presumably the only form of protest open to them.” The vote comes just before one of the world’s most spectacular gay pride events, the Sydney Mardi Gras, being held this weekend. Jason Shaw, writing on the Gayagenda.com website, says that, in a recent poll, more than 60 percent of Australians showed themselves to be in favour of same-sex marriage. Alex Greenwich of Australian Marriage Equality, says it is “arrogant” of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to “ignore” the public. He adds: “However, the fact that 26 senators were absent from [the] debate is an indication that there is dissent in the ranks of the major parties, dissent which we believe will only grow. “Because the leaders of the major parties are clearly deaf to the wishes of mainstream Australia, we have no choice but to make this an election issue when the nation goes to the polls later this year.”