Gillard makes shortlist for Golden GLORIA
Voting has started in the Gay & Lesbian, Outrageous, Ridiculous & Ignorant comment Awards (GLORIAs), organised by NSW Labor MLC Penny Sharpe.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is in the running to take out the same award won by federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott last year — the Golden GLORIA for the most outrageous comment about the GLBTI community.
Gillard was nominated for comments made earlier this year when she said allowing same-sex couples to marry was contrary to Australia’s culture and heritage.
“The Marriage Act and marriage being between a man and a woman has a special status,” she told Sky News.
Other nominees include the Christian Democrats state candidate for Sydney Peter Madden, the Reverend Fred Nile, Australian Christian Lobby head Jim Wallace, swimmer Stephanie Rice, footballer Jason Akermanis, columnists Miranda
Devine and Andrew Bolt, and the entire Australian Immigration Department and the federal Anti-Discrimination Act.
Nominations in the ‘Silliest GLBTI from within the GLBTI community’ category include Senator Penny Wong for publicly opposing same-sex marriage while privately working to make it party policy, Gary Burns for defending Channel
Seven’s outing of NSW Transport Minister David Campbell, and Catholic conservative columnist Christopher Pearson for claiming that the Greens support same-sex marriage as a population control measure.
“Their refusal to discriminate positively in favour of heterosexuality and uphold the distinctive value of normal marriage shows their political project yet again for what it is — a dead end,” he wrote.
Readers may vote for one person in each category. Voting closes at 5pm on June 3.
info: www.TheGLORIAs.com.au
