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Australian Marriage Forum claims stark anti-same sex marriage ad is needed to jolt debate

anti gay marriage adsAn anti-gay marriage group has crowdfunded a full-page ad which uses the views of politicians, families, and religious leaders to highlight its opposition to proposed changes to the law which it claims are “discrimination against the child” raised by a same sex couple.

The full-page ad by the Australian Marriage Forum focuses on statements from some of the leading figures in the debate, as well as from people whose lives have been impacted by same sex relationships.

The crowd funded ad has been printed in today’s Australian newspapers ahead of the expected introduction of a cross-party bill to support gay marriage.

The “It’s. Not. Marriage.” campaign quotes four people “raised by a loving lesbian couple” under the banner “Is it ‘Equality’ if you force some kids to miss out on their Dad?”

In a frank admission, Robert Lopez is quoted as saying: “I had an inexplicable compulsion to have sex with older males…and wanted to have sex with older men who were my [missing] father’s age.”

Dr David van Gend, president of the Australian Marriage Forum defended the bluntness of the campaign’s messaging.

Speaking to Mumbrella, he said: “It is a time for boldness. For too long the argument on same sex marriage has been self satisfied in its moral high ground.

“It’s far more complicated. If it comes at the expense of equal rights for children, where is the justice in that?

“People need to be jolted out of their apathy. The whole debate has been so trivial and shallow. We must mature in how we present it.”

Further topics in the ad ask about forcing homosexual education on children, and whether same sex marriage is necessary now couples have equal benefits.

There is also an explicit description which references the experiences of a bisexual person as quoted in a report by the Safe Schools Coalition.

Those quoted include former PM Julia Gillard and fashion designers Dolce and Gabbana.

Dr van Gend said all the quotes were taken from comments already in the public domain, and only one person was approached to check she was happy to appear in the campaign.

He said all marketing activity is driven by crowd funding from donors, and confirmed the Forum wanted to roll the ad out across all Australian newspapers. He added all federal senators and MPs have been sent a full colour copy of the advert.

In recent weeks The Australian has been used for a full-page ad from a host of different companies showing their support for the passage of the change in the law.

The print campaigns come after it was revealed Networks Seven and Ten would not show an advertisement by Marriage Alliance, which is opposed to same-sex marriage.

In the 30-second commercial, the issue is depicted using a hand sketch of an iceberg.

The advert states: “It’s time to step back and consider all the issues around same-sex marriage – like how it will affect children, or sex education in schools, or even what rights you could lose.

“It’s not as simple as you think.”

The artwork then shows a ship – seemingly a reference to the fated Titanic – on a collision course with the iceberg.

Kevin Bradford

The full Australian Marriage Forum ad:

Australian Marriage Forum_ad

Click to enlarge

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