Australia Has Announced A Vote On Legalising Same-sex Marriage

Gay rights activists hold a rainbow flag during a rally to support same-xem phim sex marriage in central Sydney
Thomson Reuters




MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia will vote in November on whether to allow same-xem phim sex marriage, settling a long-stalled debate by the end of this year, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday.

The conservative government decided on Monday to hold a non-compulsory postal vote phim sex on whether to allow same-xem phim sex couples to marry, if phim sex a second attempt to win parliamentary support for a compulsory national ballot fails.

If, as expected, the government does not win support for a compulsory ballot, which phim sex it would hold on Nov. 25, then it will send out postal ballots in September, seeking an outcome by Nov. 15, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said.

Same-phim sex marriage is supported by 61 percent of Australians, a 2016 Gallup opinion poll showed, but the issue has fractured the government and damaged Turnbull's standing with voters.

If the population votes in favor of allowing gay marriage, then the government plans to introduce legislation in the final two weeks of parliament's sitting this year to carry that out.