gay marriage poll and unintended consequences

http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/...arriage-polling

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Australian Marriage Equality national convener, Alex Greenwich, said the research commissioned by the Ambrose Centre for Religious Liberty, which opposes same-sex marriage, confirms that a majority of Australians believe in marriage equality.

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The founder and chairperson of the Ambrose Centre, Mr Rocky Mimmo, has previously stated that marriage equality would defy the law of nature and would be would be mandating an illusion and an untruth (details here).

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The Ambrose Centre research found that up to 64% of Australians believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, Mr Greenwich said.

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So will they change their mind in response to the results? Cognitive dissonance anyone?Enjoy.

I don't see why they should be expected to change their minds, nor what this has to do with cognitive dissonance. You'd only have a point if Mr. Mimmo's argument was based around the popularity of gay marriage. As it stands, he seems to be opposing gay marriage based on some alternative flawed argument about natural law, biological design and the imagined grave consequences of allowing it.

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So will they change their mind in response to the results? Cognitive dissonance anyone?

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Hopefully they will change their mind as to the popularity of their views. However, I don't think they will change their views on gay marriage itself. There will always be those who oppose gay marriage, be it legal or not. What each country needs to decide is whether or not it is in their best interest to legislate morality at the expense of personal freedoms.In the US many of these "moral" issues are used to get people to the polls. Conservatives have been using this tactic for quite a few years. They will use their state legislature to put a hot topic on the ballot to get their base out. This is quite different in Australia where voters are required by law to show up. That 64% majority seen in the poll will show up at the voting booth.

No. In fact they will probably consider it a reason to redouble their efforts to get public opinion on their side. I'm not sure that the realisation that one's views are in a minority is necessarily a cause for cognitive dissonance.To make a more EvC parochial point - Do we really need another inevitably hot headed thread about gay marriage? We've already got shit kicking off in the An Argument For Being Born Gay thread. And that is between people who basically agree on gay rights issues.......

Surprising result considering Australia was the first western nation to ban gay marriage outright. I still remember the news report that day and the videos of all the kids holding up hateful religious signs.

Hi caffeine et al Because the survey was slanted to obtain results that did not pan out.

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I find it inconsistent that on the one hand the Ambrose Centre says marriage equality is not an important issues for voters, but on the other hand it says the issue will change so many votes that it has the potential to bring down governments.

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These kinds of contrived results are the hallmark of a survey designed to find what the commissioning body wants it to find.

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They appear to have commissioned the survey to get results they could use to bolster their propaganda agenda, and failed.Also see Taz's post (Message 5).Enjoy.

I gotta admit one thing though. At least they didn't pull that lying for jesus thing like so many christians do nowadays.Added by edit.I just read the pdf report itself. Have you people actually read the report? Yeah, about 60% of the people responded said they supported same sex marriage, but it's obvious the entire article was written in such a way to put that view in a negative light. The writer(s) didn't even try to hide his bias against gay marriage.For instance, I see absolutely no mention all the studies that show children raised by same sex couples fair even better than children raised by heteros. The writer(s) kept going back and saying "think of the children, think of the children, think of the children..."This is lying for jesus by omission. Goddamn christians again...Added by edit again.For example, here is a portion at the end that sticks out to me.

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It is likely that, until social science sheds more light on this question one way or the other, and until legislators give strong weight to the rights of children in the same sex marriage debate, there will be significant public concern about more children being affected, if legalising same sex marriage leads to an increase in the incidence of children born via IVF or being adopted by same sex couples.

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But social science has already shed light on this issue time and time again over the years. Lying for jesus much?Edited by Taz, : No reason given.Edited by Taz, : No reason given.Edited by Taz, : No reason given.