On Tuesday November 14, 2017, 12.7 million Australians voted in a historical same-sex marriage survey. 61.6 percent of those people voted in favor and 38.4 percent voted against. Meaning that Wednesday morning those voters paved the way for Parliament to legally recognize the unions of lesbian and gay couples.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbell commented on the outcome of the survey, “The Australian people have spoken, and they have voted overwhelmingly ‘yes’ for marriage equality. They voted ‘yes’ to commitment, they voted ‘yes’ for love.”
People gathered at events in cities all around the country to watch the news broadcast the survey results. In Melbourne, people spent the day celebrating with confetti and rainbow-colored smoke. They hugged together. They cried together. They cheered together. They rejoiced together. It was an incredible moment for Australia.
While the vote doesn’t necessarily guarantee legislation, an Australian senator said he believes once the bill is introduced in Parliament it will have enough votes to pass legislation. If this bill passes, Australia would be the 26th country in the United States to legalize same-sex marriage, and the last English-speaking country to do so.