No Support for Gay Marriage

Australians don't support gay marriage: Howard

By Europe correspondent Rafael Epstein

The Prime Minister John Howard has described people campaigning for gay marriage as fundamentalists.

Mr Howard says it is not discrimination to deny gay men and lesbians equal marriage status with heterosexual couples.

While facing student questions at a Dublin University in Ireland, Mr Howard was challenged to defend what one student called his efforts to entrench homophobia in Australia.

Mr Howard replied that his Government had remedied much of the financial discrimination, but said most Australians do not want gay couples to have equivalent status.

"I think it is a form of minority fundamentalism to say that you have to, in every aspect of one's institutions and one's arrangements in society, have technical equivalence," he said.

Gay and lesbian activists say Mr Howard is out of touch with the community.

David Scamell from the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby says the Prime Minister is not listening to the public.

"Given that both Labor and Liberal say that they don't support gay marriage, I don't think it's likely to happen anytime soon, but that doesn't mean he is in touch with what Australians want," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200605/s1644777.htm