The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has dismissed today’s poll showing growth in public support for marriage equality, saying a more “mature debate” is required on the issue.
Lyle Shelton, Managing Director of the ACL (pictured) said the poll by Crosby | Textor did not ask questions about the “knock on effects” of same sex marriage.
Read More: Poll Shows Support for Marriage Equality at All Time High
Mr Shelton argued that a more nuanced discussion about changing the nature of marriage was needed and called on Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonjhelm to clarify is he was in favour of allowing ‘throuplets’ to wed.
Highlighting a story from the USA where three women in a polyamorous relationship were preparing to raise a child. Mr Shelton questioned if same sex marriage in Australia would lead to child marriage and polygamy.
Mr Shelton said it was all well and good to mount emotional arguments about love as the Senator did yesterday.
“But if as a country we decide to support changing the definition of marriage can we all look in the eyes of a child and tell her that she cannot be raised by her biological mother?” Mr Shelton asked.
“Are Australians happy for fellow citizens who believe in man-woman marriage to be sued in the courts or driven from their jobs because of their beliefs, as is now happening in other jurisdictions?”
Rodney Croome, National Director of Australian Marriage Equality has said that Mr Shelton’s comments are a sign that the conservative religious organisation has lost the debate.
“The ACL’s response to the Crosby|Textor poll deliberately avoids the issue of overwhelming community support for marriage equality with an offensive and irrelevant diversion into fear-mongering. That tells me that the ACL knows it has well and truly lost the marriage equality debate.”
Mr Croome also said comments earlier today from News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt also trivialised the discussion.
On his blog Mr Bolt argued that if Senator Leyonjhelm was a “true Libertarian” he would also be in favour of incestuous marriage and polygamy.
”By trivialising the serious case for marriage equality from the perspective of personal freedom from government interference, Andrew Bolt is not only setting himself against public opinion, he is betraying his own conservative principles.” said Mr Croome.
Graeme Watson
Update: 15-07-14 5:28pm Title adjusted from: ACL Declares Marriage Debate Lacks Maturity, Then Asks to Discuss ‘Thruples’
