'Stop the fags' poster appears in Melbourne
Homophobic attack on gay parents comes as Australia prepares to vote on gay marriage
A poster bearing the slogan "Stop the fags" has appeared on a street in the centre of Melbourne as Australians prepare to vote on same-sex marriage.
The flyer shows a child cowering before two figures carrying belts patterned with the rainbow stripes of the LGBT flag and claims that 92 per cent of children raised by gay parents are abused - a figure taken from a single widely discredited study.
By the time a council worker had been dispatched to Heffernan Lane, the poster had been removed, ABC reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, photos of the sign had already gone viral, with Australians expressing horror and disgust on social media.
The statistics cited on the poster are based on a 2016 study by Reverend Paul Sullins, an associate professor at the Catholic University of America, whose research is often cited by opponents of same-sex adoption.
Stanford University sociologist Michael Rosenfeld told The Atlantic that academics like Sullins represented a "noisy fringe" espousing views which hold "little or no credibility" to the mainstream consensus.
Of 79 studies looking at children raised in same-sex households gathered by Columbia Law School, all but four found no significant difference in outcome for children of gay parents compared to their peers in heterosexual households.
Nathaniel Frank, the head of the Columbia project, says that the four dissenting studies - including Sullins' 2016 paper - were all authored by religiously motivated authors. "Their transparent efforts to commandeer an entire social science field to advance a religious agenda makes their scientific claims - and them - into laughing stocks," he wrote on Slate.
Australians have until Thursday to register to vote in the all-postal ballot, which will be conducted between 12 September and 7 November.
While some pro-equality Australians welcome the chance to express their support for gay marriage, others see the non-binding vote as a stalling tactic and an insult to gay Australians.
In an impassioned response to the poster incident, leader of the opposition Bill Shorten said his Labor party had opposed the vote "because we feared exactly this kind of hurtful filth would emerge".
"This kind of garbage isn't 'debate', it's abuse," he wrote on Facebook. "I'm so sorry that LGBTI Australians have to put up with it. Let's make sure there's an overwhelming 'Yes' vote in response."
A poll conducted for The Australian last week indicates that 63 per cent of Australians are planning to vote in favour of gay marriage, with 30 per cent opposed and seven per cent still unsure.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Duchess of Gloucester: the hard-working royal you've never heard of
Under The Radar Outer royal 'never expected' to do duties but has stepped up to the plate
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Mouse keeps tidying up man's shed
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Dead' woman nearly suffocated in morgue bag
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published