Over the last decade, marriage equality has gone from a problem for the left to being a problem for the right. Obama capitalised on this in this year's election campaign by changing his mind on marriage equality. An article in the NY Times argues that the gay vote could have been decisive in his re-election, including in Ohio and Florida:
Mitt Romneyand Mr. Obama won roughly an equal number of votes among straight voters nationwide, exit polls showed. And, anew study argues, Mr. Romney appears to have won a narrow victory among straight voters in the swing states of Ohio and Florida.
Mr. Obama’s more than three-to-one edge in exit polls among the 5 percent of voters who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual was more than enough to give him the ultimate advantage, according to the study, by Gary J. Gates of the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law, in conjunction with Gallup. The results are consistent with earlier research on the size and political beliefs of gay voters.
Marriage equality has overwhelming support among the Australian public.
Having tagged Abbott as a misogynist and sexist, isolating him politically on marriage equality would increase the advantage Gillard now has over the Liberal leader in the popularity stakes.
So far Gillard has held out on marriage equality, she should re-think it over the Xmas-New Year period.
See also: How marriage equality might save the welfare state and Marriage equality and why the ALP structure matters.
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