Anti-gay activists claim equal marriage ‘discriminates against lesbians’

Anti-gay activists in Australia are trying to convince lesbians to vote against equal marriage.

The Australian Family Association is trying to convince lesbians to reject a proposed equal marriage law as it goes to a public vote.

The country’s anti-LGBT lobby has nonsensically taken to branding the same-sex marriage proposals ‘transgender marriage’, in a bid to adopt US-style ‘wedge issue’ tactics.

In a release today, the Australian Family Association took the claims to a bizarre extreme – using their falsehoods to try and convince lesbians to vote against equal marriage.

On their newly-launched ‘Transgender Marriage’ website, the group asks: “What does transgender marriage mean for women and lesbians?”

They claim: “Two men identifying as women and in a relationship can be legally married and be recognised as being in a lesbian marriage for the purposes of accessing lesbian only organisations, events and lesbian exclusive spaces.

“Is this the sort of ‘equality’ Australians want to impose on women and lesbians?”

Aside from the fact that they seem to think women and lesbians are two different categories of people, the group’s claims are also pure nonsense.

The proposal being voted on includes no issues affecting transgender rights whatsoever. Trans issues are regulated separately to marriage.

The ballot paper will read: “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”

But the AFA insisted it would mean that “men socially identifying as women can access women’s shelters and gyms… play in women’s sports, like the AFL women’s competition and the Olympic women’s competition”.

LGBT campaigners have dismissed the claims as “blatant mistruths”.

Though the upcoming vote has nothing to do with transgender issues, the Coalition for Marriage recently launched a TV advert urging people to vote ‘No’ because “[a] school told my son he could wear a dress next year if he felt like it”.

The pro-LGBT Equality Campaign has put out its own ad calling out the scaremongering campaign.

The ad features grandmother and doctor Kerryn Phelps.

In the advert, Phelps says: “Over the coming weeks we’ll be hearing a lot about whether our family and friends who are gay or lesbian can get married.

“Sadly, some are trying to mislead us, by saying marriage equality will have a negative impact, including on young people.

“The YES campaign is about uniting Australians while the NO campaign is about dividing our nation.”

Equality Campaign Executive Director Tiernan Brady said: “The next few weeks must be a campaign of respectful conversations, not angry debates, because this is about real people’s lives and their dignity.

“Lesbian and gay people are our family members, friends, neighbours and workmates and we would ask all who take part in our national conversation to remember that.”

• Dec 31 2024

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