Through a public consultation, 61% of Australians said “yes” to the legalization of same-sex unions in the country, which still does not recognize same-sex marriage. The result that was released on Wednesday 15th could serve to guide a vote in Parliament that will decide whether or not to legalize this type of union. If approved, Australia will be the 26th country in the world to normalize same-sex unions through law. In the vote, 61,6% of voters chose “yes”, while 38,4% said “no”. As stated at the beginning of the text, the vote does not legalize marriage, but puts pressure on the government to vote on the agenda. After announcing the result, which was celebrated by a crowd in Sydney, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that he will fulfill his promise and send a bill to Parliament so that the agenda can be voted on and approved before Christmas. “It’s unequivocal, it’s overwhelming. They spoke in their millions and voted overwhelmingly yes on marriage equality,” Turnbull said in a press release. “They voted yes for justice, yes for commitment, yes for love”, concluded the prime minister. The vote, which was not mandatory, was attended by almost 80% of Australian voters. GERMANY Recently, Germany approved same-sex unions following a decision by the majority of Parliament and contrary to the opinion of Chancellor Angela Merkel, from the conservative party.
