Australians Say ‘Yes’ to Gay Marriage, Paving Way for Law Change

Postal survey shows 61.6% of people support same-sex unions
Parliament urged to legislate marriage equality by Christmas

Bloomberg’s Paul Allen reports on a vote that shows Australians are overwhelmingly in favor of same-sex marriage.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Jason Scott and Kanika Sood

November 14, 2017 at 11:06 PM UTC

Updated on

November 15, 2017 at 5:35 AM UTC

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Australia is set to legalize same-sex marriage before the end of the year after voters emphatically backed the move in a nationwide survey.

“We must respect the voice of the people,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in Canberra on Wednesday after the country’s statistics office revealed 61.6 percent of respondents support marriage equality, with 38.4 percent opposed. “It is unequivocal. It is overwhelming.”