WELL SHIT: Gay Marriage Plebiscite Won’t Happen This Year, Says The AEC

The plebiscite is expensive, unnecessary and will start a debate that’s deeply offensive to the queer community but, hey, we might get same-sex marriage soon, right? Well it might not actually be that soon, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.

Because a) Australia can’t do anything the easy way and b) Turnbull doesn’t want to piss off his precious conservative vote, we’re being saddled with a watered-down version of a referendum as a consolation prize for massively lagging behind the rest of the western world in terms of marriage equality.

Initially met with enthusiasm, the popularity of a plebiscite is slowly waning as people realise that it’s not only non-binding (and therefore pointless), it’s also just going to kick up a lot of ugly, ugly debate about whether gay people deserve the same rights as everyone else.

For now, however, we’re stuck with it – if it ever actually arrives. Special Minister Of State (what a title) Scott Ryan seemed convinced it could be held within the year, but according to the AEC it’ll take at least 29 weeks to get the ball rolling on a vote – and we’ve only got 21 weeks left in the year.

This week has also seen extremely vocal same-sex marriage opponent Lyle Shelton, the head of the ACL, ask for government funding to help the “gay marriage, ew” camp compete with the global movement of people who aren’t weird bigoted dickheads.

He wants each side to get $7.5 million in funding (same as both sides got in the 1999 Republic referendum) so they get an equal chance to debate their points – it’ll be interesting how many hours of TV ads about the destruction of the family that much money can buy.

Australian Marriage Equality says they don’t want the money, on account of the plebiscite is already expensive enough and they never wanted the plebiscite in the first place. 

A poll of 5500 LGBTIQ people by PFLAG recently found that 85% of respondents were, understandably, opposed to putting gay marriage to a public vote.

Christ, what a clusterfuck.