Tuesday 11 October 2016

We killed the plebiscite! - Hooray! - Labor blocks it

Poll here
Victory darlings! We did it! We stopped the hate!

In a move that will really piss off the Australian Christian Lobby and all those associated with it's hate of the LGBT, Labor has sided with the Greens and the Nick Xenophon Party to block the plebiscite legislation in the senate. We might as well say it's dead, buried, and cremated :) 

All those emails we sent to all those politicians in Canberra, all the representation our community gave against the plebiscite, all those who came out in support of us, we did it! 

Now it's time to put the pressure on Turnbull. After saying for months that the only way to achieve marriage equality is through a plebiscite, suddenly the elephant in the room has roared. The only way now to achieve it is the other way that's been available all along; a free parliamentary vote. 
The same-sex marriage plebiscite is dead in the water after Labor MPs finally agreed to block the proposal in the Senate at a caucus meeting on Tuesday. 

The decision casts marriage equality off into the never-never, with the Turnbull government adamant a plebiscite is the only way of achieving reform in this term of Parliament, and one Coalition MP already threatening to bring down the government if that is changed. 

Labor tussled with the issue for weeks but hardened its resolve after consulting with gay and lesbian advocacy groups and mental health experts, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at one point declaring a public vote on same-sex marriage could lead vulnerable people to suicide. 

A source inside the Labor caucus indicated the discussion took less than 15 minutes and was resolved unanimously. 

Mr Shorten on Tuesday said he had not heard a good argument for the plebiscite and reiterated Labor's view that it was unnecessary, expensive and had the potential to cause mental ill health among LGBTI people. The Guardian  


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