Australian Minister Penny Wong, an open lesbian, has sided with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, taking a shocking position against same-sex marriage and infuriating Australia's LGBT and progressive communities.
"Labor's Climate Change Minister (pictured) said on Channel Ten yesterday that she respected her party's opposition to gay marriage law reform."On the issue of marriage I think the reality is there is a cultural, religious, historical view around that which we have to respect”, she stated.
Australian Marriage Equality spokesperson Alex Greenwich says Senator Wong's rationale for opposing marriage equality is “deeply hypocritical.”
“It was once the ‘cultural, religious and historical view' that women should not be members of parliament, Asians should not be allowed into Australia, and lesbians shouldn't even exist, yet thankfully all that changed allowing people like Penny Wong to contribute to Australian society at the highest level,” he reacted.“By opposing marriage equality, Penny Wong has betrayed gay and lesbian Australians, and by using culture, religion and history to justify this opposition she has betrayed the principles of tolerance and inclusion that have given her immense opportunities as a lesbian woman of Chinese descent.”
“I can only pity Senator Wong for putting the politics of prejudice ahead of her own equality.”
Watch Wong defend her position on ABC's Q&A program, AFTER THE JUMP…