Though both houses of Australia's Parliament have said no to homosexual "marriage," a pro-family advocate does not expect the issue to go away.
The so-called "marriage equality law" was defeated by about a 2-1 margin. Jack Sonnemann of The Australian Federation for the Family tells OneNewsNow Prime Minister Julie Gillard heads the Labor Party, which led the fight for same-gender marriage. Prospective future party leaders have also endorsed it.
"Tasmania and some of the other states are trying to do an end-run around our constitution about legitimizing it in the states. Well, they can't do it," Sonnemann asserts. "In fact, in Tasmania right now, it has passed in the lower house, and it's being debated in the Senate. The problem with that is that the states do not have the authority to define what marriage is."
But he adds that proponents of natural marriage have the support of the media and many academics.
"I think the people -- in fact, I know the people -- across Tasmania do not want homosexual marriage," the Federation spokesman accounts. "They're perfectly happy with the situation like it is, but the battle now is just to persevere. We can't give up."
He goes on to add that the battle is worth fighting.
"We cannot just at the whim of a small minority of homosexual radical activists, we can't just at their whim transform our culture the way they want it to," he concludes.