Spiked editor tells Australians: ‘Same-sex marriage has this really ugly, intolerant streak’

Spiked editor Brendan O’Neill has warned Australians not to legislate for ‘illiberal’ same-sex marriage and described the plight of those who have opposed it in other countries.

Speaking on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Q&A show, O’Neill said that same-sex marriage “presents itself as this kind of liberal civil-rightsy issue, but it has this really ugly, intolerant streak to it”.

“Anyone who opposes gay marriage is demonised, harassed. We’ve seen people thrown out of their jobs because they criticise gay marriage.”

“There are equality cases, shops have closed down, it’s like a twenty first century form of religious persecution – it’s horrendous.”

He told members of the audience that “we live in a climate in which it’s not acceptable” to express opposition to the redefinition of marriage.

“Within the space of a decade, something that humanity believed for thousands of years has suddenly become a form of bigotry, a form of hate – something you’re not allowed to express in public life.”

C4M wholeheartedly agree with what O’Neill has said and would urge Australians simply to consider the legal action against Ashers bakery and the dismissal of Red Cross volunteer Bryan Barkley, which have taken place since marriage was redefined in Britain. They should not vote for this scenario in their own country.

Same-sex marriage has emerged in very recent times. It has been touted with great success in highly political campaigns in a small number of countries. But the fact remains, most of the world’s population accept marriage for what it is and always has been – the union of one man and one woman.