Pressure Builds in Australia for Gay Marriage

Yet another nation may be poised to soon leave the USA in the bigoted past as Australia's Prime Minister is finding herself faced with growing support across the country for same sex unions - and political costs if she continues to be a road block to progress. The phenomenon is but another example of the USA's failure to provide equality to all of its citizens while other nations deliver on America's false promise. The Sydney Morning Herald has two stories that look at the political and societal dynamics in Australia that suggest the country may soon move forward. The first story looks at Julia Gillard's political situation - here are highlights:
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It keeps getting harder for Julia Gillard to hold the line on gay marriage. Today's poll shows that not only do most Australians support the legal recognition of gay marriage by 57 per cent to 37 against. It also reveals that there could be political advantage for Labor to pursue this idea.
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The Herald/Nielsen poll shows that gay marriage is accepted by almost 90 per cent of Greens voters, two-thirds of Labor voters and 51 per cent of Coalition voters. So by supporting such a policy Gillard would not only be moving to put Labor into the new community mainstream. She would also be representing the great bulk of Labor voters, while making Labor more appealing to almost all Greens voters.
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By recognising same-sex marriages, Gillard would rob the Greens of a powerfully emotive point of differentiation. And today's poll shows that by running with gay marriage, Labor could stymie - the preferred word among political operatives is "wedge" - Tony Abbott's Coalition.
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By hewing to her position, Gillard is instead defending a view at odds with the mainstream and two-thirds of her own party's voters.
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A second piece looks at the growing frustration among progressives who are tired of religion interfering with civil liberties. Here are highlights:
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[I]t continues to be the rigid stance of Prime Minister Julia Gillard - who has ruled out changing the party's policy on the issue until Labor's national conference - that has arguably sparked the most discussion. And now, she's begun to attract some heavyweight celebrity criticism.
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Renowned expatriate actor Portia de Rossi today declared her dismay at Gillard's lack of leadership - and she did most articulately; with a passion hard to dismiss as mere Hollywood sideline sniping.
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[A] different type of gay dinosaur is still walking the earth with the political lay of the land for gay marriage remaining perfectly preserved in a tar pit of conservatism and tradition. The motion to be voted on today has ALP support but the PM remains firm against the idea of a conscience vote or a change to the Marriage Act, which currently defines marriage as between a man and woman.
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You've got to hope that as we enter a different paleontological age, these gay (marriage) dinosaurs evolve or die out.