Ninety per cent of LGBTI Australians against religious exemptions

Ninety per cent of LGBTI Australians against religious exemptions

A recent survey has found that ninety per cent of LGBTI Australians are against the religious exemptions proposed in the government’s draft marriage equality bill.

The proposals would allow same-sex couples to be refused service by civil celebrants, faith-owned businesses and other service providers in return for legalising same-sex marriage.

The bill was introduced by Attorney General George Brandis, who proposed that same-sex couples could be turned away by a celebrant or business if they were against the marriage on religious grounds.

In response, advocacy groups just.equal and PFLAG released a survey asking LGBTI Australians to express their views on the bill.

National spokesperson for PFLAG, Shelley Argent, said the results of the survey were a clear indication of where Australia’s sexual and gender diverse community stood on the proposals.

“The majority of LGBTI people are clearly saying that access to marriage on condition they can be refused services is not marriage equality,” she said.

“We will not launch a lobbying campaign on the back of this survey to show politicians that LGBTI people want true marriage equality, not a watered-down version that entrenches prejudice and discrimination.”

The survey found that 81 per cent of respondents opposed the idea that services could be refused, though this rose to 90 per cent once they discovered the government’s proposals targeted same-sex couples specifically.

It also found that support for marriage equality remains high, with 98 per cent of the LGBTI Australians in favour of legalising same-sex marriage.

One respondent left a comment saying Australia should be living in a secular democracy in 2017.

“No other group in society has had their civil or human rights made subject to people’s beliefs,” they wrote.

Another respondent said they’d rather wait for full marriage equality than have it pass conditionally now.

“As important as marriage equality is to me, I would rather wait than face a conditional system like this,” they wrote.

“A system that allows people to discriminate on us based on our sexuality is compromised and flawed.”

The survey was undertaken by 6,342 Australians, making it likely to be the largest LGBTI national survey.

The Senate is currently conducting an inquiry into the government’s draft marriage equality legislation, and the survey will be submitted to the inquiry.

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2 responses to “Ninety per cent of LGBTI Australians against religious exemptions”

  1. I as an individual gay man and 90 percent of Australians in general are fed-up and are looking forward to change within both the State and Federal elections in 2019. Because that is finally when we can do some overdue Spring-cleaning and taking out the trash in both Federal and State parliaments, Trump-style!

  2. So what is the punishment for politicians who have been violating the human rights of so many people? Are their human rights subject to the religious beliefs of those they’ve harmed? If not, why are they subjecting other people’s to religious beliefs?