ACL concerned about growing marriage support
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is concerned the Labor Party may “discard its election promise on marriage” following the Queensland ALP State Conference motion calling on both the federal Labor Party and the ALP National Conference to support same-sex marriage.
“We have appreciated Prime Minister Gillard’s resolve to honour Labor’s commitment but we are worried about elements of the Party who are seemingly dismissive of the party’s election promise and are following the Greens’ lead on redefining marriage,” ACL chief of staff Lyle Shelton said on Monday.
“ACL urges delegates to the federal conference in December not to break Australia’s bipartisan support for marriage being between one man and one woman.”
Shelton said the changing of 84 laws in 2008 giving same-sex couples the same rights as de facto heterosexual couples meant that issues of equality had been comprehensively dealt with under Australian Commonwealth law.
“To have Labor fixated on a political trophy being sought by the activist component of 2 percent of the population when ordinary Australians are more concerned about cost-of-living pressures and the social environment in which they raise their children risks alienating mainstream voters,” he said
Shelton called on the ALP to support Gillard’s stance at the national conference.
It must be be incredibly frustrating for groups like the ACL to campaign, fight and resist what is clearly inevitable. (I dont have a great deal of sympathy for their plight thought)
I would encourage ACL supporters to go meet some actual Christians and attend the Uniting Church anti-homophobic programs. There are only 20 people in the ACL, we know this from their recent campaign against a picture of couples embracing.
300-400,000 people go to Mardi Gras, 100,000 go to midsummer, and many more like me have only been once. We all have friends and family, we haven have thousands of children. So if rights are based on numbers, the ACL is half a bus stop. Jim Wallace will lie about numbers as he knows politicians act on numbers. We need to remind the public what the numbers really are, and talk openly about the Gay Hate Lobby that the ACL is from their own actions lying about us, and trying to stop us getting any human rights.
Lobby your MP now with the facts and request they nolonger engage the Gay hate lobby, and their 20 supporters. Most of you would know more then 20 people. We need to unite against the Evil that is trying ruin your life. We will have equality but we must act, all of us.
The ACL = Australia’s Nazi Party. Seriously, where is the difference between the way they demonise muslims and gays and the way the nazis demonised jews and gays? There is no difference. We arent going anywhere ACL :)
2%?? I don’t think so. It’s actually more like 10% of the population who are same gender attracted & are discriminated against from accessing marriage in a govt registry office now or in thier future. The ACL thinks the 2% is the census data of same gender couples in a defacto relationship. Firstly this figure is under-reported, and secondly it ignores the other 8% who may want to be in a relationship in the future, and have all available optios available to them including marriage in a govt registry office.
10% equates to 2.1 MILLION PEOPLE!!!! To put this into perspective, there are 517K Indigineous people in Australia, and 300k Muslims.
Add to that the EPIDEMIC of gay youth suicide of those who can’t see a future that “gets better” under a homophobic PM like Gillard, and the figures are overwhelmingly telling us we need to end discrimiation ASAP!
The ACL is reverting to the old age tactic of lies and fearmongering to push their agenda. They really should drop “Christian” from their title and replace it with Gay Hate – the Australian Gay Hate Lobby. Not only is the AGHL out of step with the rest of Australia who now don’t see gay marriage to be a “problem” but simply see it as stupid that we don’t have marriage equality – but the AGHL is also out of step with the thinking of many Australian Christians on this issue. They are quickly becoming the looney mob that One Nation was in the late 90s. Soon no one will listen to a word the AGHL has to say and the Murdoch papers will have no choice but to stop supporting them.
The ACL had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the changing of the 84 laws in 2008 giving same-sex couples the same rights as de facto heterosexual couples.
The ACL is perpertuating a big fat lie by claiming that only gay activists are fighting for equal marriage when it is clear to all that this is a broadly supported grass roots movement.
The ACL’s claim that gays and lesbians make up only 2 percent of the population is another big fat lie. They should by now know it is about 7% but I’d be satisfied if they chose any figure between the various academically assessed figures of between 5% and 11%.
Given that’s its such an unimportant political trophy, I wonder why the ACL doesn’t just let it pass unopposed so we can get back to the important issues of rising cost of living and the social environment that’s currently being overrun by religious fanatics…
Just saying…
The ACL should be concerned. Because the majority of the population want change and they will get what they want.
As if gays are only 2% of the population. We all know a guy turns curious after a few beers. Grin
We can only hope Gillard’s stance has been to distract groups like the ACL, who pick “facts” and “figures” out of the air just like they pick morals out of an ancient guide to surviving in the wilderness (Leviticus). The ACL should be concerned, because Australia is not a Church State. They are the minority. When it becomes impossible to have a religious conviction because it’s illegal, the ACL will know how it feels. Hold on … wasn’t it illegal to be a Christian under Roman rule? That’s right … all 21st Century Christians should know better than to marginalise others. They would do well to read their history as well as the bible, and learn to encourage love wherever it grows.
The ACL has led a campaign of hate that has turned off millions of Christians. From the vitriolic ANZAC day comments to the complaints about two couples embracing on a Billboard, and the many times I have heard untruths told about us from Jim Wallace – the community finds this sort of hate and personal attacks on good GLBTI people as abhorrent as we do.
What the ALC should be concerned about is their legacy. If they do not end their obsession promoting the hate of Same-Sex attracted people, history will confine the ACL to academic study, in the same way we now study the White Australia Policy.
Suck a fat one ACL….