Australians have voiced their opinion on marriage equality, and an overwhelming amount of them voted for it to be legal Wednesday morning.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 61 percent of the voters approved changing the current law toward same-sex marriage. Parliament decided to let the people have a voice in the decision before voting on the current bill when officials green-lighted the voluntary postal survey in September. Sent out to the Australian population, more than 75 percent chose to cast their ballot, with many in favor of equal marriage rights. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull—who also voted yes—has promised to follow through on passing the bill based on the majority decision.
Lucy and I are voting YES because it's fair. Make sure you have your say too by returning your survey form. pic.twitter.com/6xhaDYC7pQ
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) September 23, 2017
While this vote does not mean marriage equality is automatically legal in Australia, it makes the path to legalization an easy one. And that’s all it took for those not just in Australia, but around the globe, to react wholeheartedly.
Moments after the results came in, celebratory congratulations came swarming in.
🎉 THANK YOU 🎉
— AU Marriage Equality (@AMEquality) November 14, 2017
This all happened because of you.
We did this together. pic.twitter.com/4vWuIj9bpB
Australia’s iconic Sydney Opera House lit up in rainbow lights.
Australia votes YES 🏳️🌈 #MarriageEquality pic.twitter.com/rN3aQRExOz
— Sydney Opera House (@SydOperaHouse) November 15, 2017
Australian Minister for the Arts tweeted, “Love is Love.”
Love is Love.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@a_palaszczuk) November 14, 2017
We did it together. #MarriageEquality pic.twitter.com/DCIj0Lwki8
@gaystarnews posted video reactions to the “yes” result, including testimonials from various Australian citizens ecstatic over the breaking news.
Congratulations Australia! Here are some video reactions to the yes result! https://t.co/i7SGAUS30x #MarriageEquality #LoveIsLove pic.twitter.com/dXGyUNvJQm
— GSN (@gaystarnews) November 14, 2017
Even celebrities in the United States took to Twitter, posting their excitement and support.
It’s a g’day. Way to go Australia. #MarriageEquality pic.twitter.com/0tdnBHPAW1
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) November 14, 2017
YES YES YES YES YES AUSTRALIA – YES!!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
— SAM SMITH (@samsmith) November 14, 2017
Yes!!!!! Congrats Australia! Every step taken is one closer to World Peace! Love love love you! Proud to be Australian by association lol ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/1zO5kSjMS7
— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) November 14, 2017
Yes Australia! 🏳️🌈
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) November 14, 2017
Today is a great day for human rights. #Australia says YES to marriage equality. BRAVO! This makes me so happy. pic.twitter.com/pCLUOhvD06
— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) November 15, 2017
Prime Minister Turnbull has promised that Parliament will vote on approving the bill before Christmas. When it does, Australia will become the 25th country to legalize marriage equality.