Predicting support for marriage equality in Australia

Abstract

Objective: The marriage equality debate is becoming increasingly prominent in Australian political and media discourse. Moreover, as policy that would legislate marriage equality continues to be debated in political circles, public opinion on the topic appears to be becoming increasingly divided. This article presents a cross-sectional study exploring predictors of support for marriage equality. Method: A sample of 137 Australians (66% females) responded to a series of demographic items, a measure of attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women, and a forced-choice question asking whether or not they would support marriage between two people-regardless of their gender. Results: The results revealed that support for marriage equality in this sample was predicted by religious affiliation, political orientation, and sexual prejudice. More specifically, individuals in support of marriage equality were more likely to be non-religious, politically liberal, and have more positive attitudes towards gay men (attitudes towards lesbian women were unrelated to support for marriage equality). Age and gender did not predict support for marriage equality. Conclusions: Support for marriage equality in Australia can be predicted by social attitudes and demographic variables. These findings are discussed in terms of the implications of maintaining the legal status quo, which mandates marriage inequality.

A qualitative exploration of the impact of the marriage equality debate on same‐sex attracted Australians and their allies

“…The High Court's decision resulted in the prevention of concurrent state or territory laws that allowed same-sex marriage where federal law did not (Neilsen, 2013). This ruling, along with the Marriage Amendment Act (2004) (Cth), can be considered a clear example of institutionalised discrimination against same-sex attracted (SSA) individuals (see Anderson, Georgantis, & Kapelles, 2017;Herek & McLemore, 2013).…”

Rejecting equality: Psychological differences between Australian sexual minority men voting “yes,” voting “no,” or abstaining from voting on the legalization of same-sex marriage.

“…The bulk of the extant literature that has explored attitudes toward same-sex marriage has been conducted on heterosexual populations. From this research, sexual prejudice emerges as the most proximal and powerful predictor of opposition toward same-sex marriage, both generally (Herek, 2007), and in the Australian context (Anderson, Georgantis, & Kapelles, 2017; Sloane & Robillard, 2018; Webb & Chonody, 2012). Sexual prejudice describes negative attitudes toward individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation (Herek & McLemore, 2013).…”

“…By extension, research shows that greater religiosity also predicts greater opposition to same-sex marriage (Brumbaugh, Sanchez, Nock, & Wright, 2008; Olson et al, 2006; Pearl & Galupo, 2007; Sherkat, Powell-Williams, Maddox, & De Vries, 2011; van der Toorn, Jost, Packer, Noorbaloochi, & Van Bavel, 2017; Webb & Chonody, 2012), including that conducted in the Australian context (Anderson et al, 2017; Gravelle & Carson, 2019; Perales, Bouma, & Campbell, 2019; Perales & Campbell, 2018; Sloane & Robillard, 2018; Wilson, Shalley, & Perales, 2019). Given that sexual minority people can, of course, be religious (Rodriguez, 2010), it is possible that religiosity would also predict opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage among sexual minority people.…”

Social Media and Marriage Equality in Australia: The Media Roles in the Public Sphere and the Agenda-Setting

“…LGBTIQ groups in Australia used Facebook and Twitter to launch campaigns and express their views on marriage equality. The "Yes" campaign is a typical example of marriage equality activists using Facebook and Twitter to send unsolicited text messages to gain support for gay marriage, with a significant number of people receiving SMS encouraging them to vote "Yes" [27] . In this process, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull became an advocate for the right of sexual minorities to marriage equality.…”