The Australian Football League just came out for marriage equality
Australia’s biggest sport has come out in favour of marriage equality.
The Australian Football League (AFL) has declared it’s backing the ‘Yes’ campaign in the country’s same-sex marriage vote.
Millions of Australians are presently going to the polls in a non-binding vote on whether the government should change its marriage laws.
The AFL has even gone so far as to change its official logo.
Posting to Twitter, the league had changed its logo from ‘AFL’ to ‘YES’ in a show of solidarity.
They wrote: “The AFL is committed to equality & diversity, & we support the rights of all Australians to live, work & play free from discrimination.”
The AFL is committed to equality & diversity, & we support the rights of all Australians to live, work & play free from discrimination. pic.twitter.com/6X62btsYEp— AFL (@AFL) September 20, 2017
Some of the game’s biggest stars turned out to support the unveiling of the new logo, including CEO Gillon McLachlan.
The AFL is committed to equality & diversity, & we support the rights of all Australians to live, work & play free from discrimination. pic.twitter.com/XUoAuEcwzJ— AFL (@AFL) September 20, 2017
Cricket Australia also joined the calls, writing: “Cricket is a sport for all Australians, and we support marriage equality”
Cricket is a sport for all Australians, and we support marriage equality https://t.co/vFjHGGLFng pic.twitter.com/8PrHdDcwsu— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) September 11, 2017
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull opted to put the issue of same-sex marriage to the people in a contentious and controversial public vote.
The ballot, which is non-binding and advisory in nature, has no legal power – but the result will likely be taken into consideration by the country’s lawmakers.
The ballot paper will read: “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”
Polling shows that the Yes campaign has a healthy lead in the vote.
The deadline for the return of ballots is November 7, giving a voting period of nearly two months.
The result of the ballot will be announced at the end of November.