Dear friends,
72% of Australians believe same-sex couples have the right to get married. Most politicians believe it. The Prime Minister believes it.
So, why does the Australian government want to spend US $120 million to put that decision to a public vote? Nobody really knows, but what is clear is that a plebiscite will give anti-gay haters a great chance to spread their lies and hurt Australian LGBT people.
Very soon, the Australian government will decide if they will have an expensive, unnecessary vote on marriage equality. We can stop this madness, but it will take thousands of us to shame them and show the world how outrageous this decision would be.
There's a really simple alternative: if Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull allowed a free vote in Parliament – that is, letting politicians vote according to their beliefs instead of their party's decision – we could have marriage equality in Australia in days.
But no. Nope. Turnbull thinks paying US $120 million and unleashing months of anti-gay hate makes more sense.
A plebiscite would lead to a divisive public debate, driving hatred and abuse towards gay and lesbian Australians and letting homophobes emerge with new confidence.
The decision will happen very soon, so we don't have a lot of time.
Thanks for going All Out,
Matt, Mathias, Pamela, Leandro, and the rest of the All Out team.
