The publishers of White, a wedding magazine that said it would not feature same-sex couples, has announced it is closing after being abandoned by readers and advertisers.
The magazine was highlighted earlier this year as a publication that only included heterosexual couples when contributors noticed that submissions featuring same-sex couples were getting knocked back.
Founders Luke and Carla Burrell said the magazine had always been secular, but they themselves were Christians and had chosen not to feature any same-sex couples.
“White Magazine has always been a secular publication, but as its publishers, we are Christian. We have no agenda but to love. We have no desire to create a social, political or legal war, which only divides people further and does more damage than good. To us, our faith is anchored in love without judgement.”
In a post to their website the couple said the magazine was no economically longer viable after advertisers withdrew their support.
The couple said they had started the magazine 12 years ago because the other publications they saw were only focussed on advertising, while their magazine was focused on people and their stories.
In a video accompanying the post Luke Burrell said the couple understood that not including same-sex marriages was hurtful to some people. Burrell lamented that in society relationships were being put ahead of values and said that a space needed to be created where people could listen to each others points of view.
In an interview with The Australian the publishers said gay activists had forced them to end this part of their lives and said one person had even threatened to burn their house down. The couple said despite receiving death threats they had not reported any of them to the police.
The campaign against the magazine has drawn criticism from Sky News host Rowan Dean. Opening his Outsiders program on Sunday morning Dean said those who wanted marriage equality had hounded the couple out of business and bullied them over their beliefs.
Dean listed Liberal politicians Malcolm Turnbull, Christopher Pyne, Dean Smith and Tim Wilson calling them “spineless, cowardly, virtue signalling, bed wetters” who had rushed through the marriage legislation without adequate protections for religious freedom.
Dean said the issue of marriage equality has been a sham and the gay community had been exploited by “the hard left” who wanted to attack religion and the Christian community.
Later in the program Dean and co-host Piers Akerman were joined by Lyle Shelton from the Australian Conservatives. Shelton was the leader of the Coalition for Marriage which campaigned against marriage equality.
Shelton said allowing same-sex couples the right to wed had created an “open season” on anyone who did not “agree with the rainbow view of the world.”
The aspiring politicians said there were many cases of Christians being attacked for their beliefs, “This is just the canary in the coal mine, the tip of the iceberg.”
Shelton said the current Liberal government was “dithering” over implementing the recommendations of the Ruddock Review into religious freedom.
OIP Staff
