Julia Gillard, Australian PM, helps defeat same sex marriage legislation

Julia Gillard, Australian PM, helps defeat same-sex marriage legislation , London (UK): The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) welcomes the news that two bills attempting to legalise same-sex marriage in Australia have both been defeated.

The private member's bill put up by Labor's Stephen Jones, was defeated 98 votes to 42 in the House of Representatives (the lower house).

The private member's bill sponsored by Labor backbenchers Trish Crossin, Carol Brown and Gavin Marshall was defeated 41 votes to 26 in the Senate.

A third bill to legalise same-sex marriage is being sponsored by Greens' senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

That bill will now be left on the table until Senator Hanson-Young decides that there is now enough support in parliament for it to pass.

However, in the wake of the current defeat of these two bills, it remains to been such if such support will, if ever, be forthcoming.

Anthony McCarthy, SPUC’s education manager and expert on marriage issues, said: "These results should encourage those fighting here to defend marriage. They give lie to the idea propounded by the pro-same sex marriage lobby that their victory is ‘inevitable’."

SPUC has been campaigning closely with the Coalition for Marriage (C4M) to uphold marriage in opposition to government plans to legalise same sex marriage by 2015.

Enquires: Anthony McCarthy 07426 967993 anthonymccarthy@spuc.org.uk Notes to editor: SPUC position paper on marriage can be read here http://www.spuc.org.uk/documents/papers/ssm201201 and the SPUC background paper on marriage can be read here http://www.spuc.org.uk/documents/papers/ssmbackground20120103