An anonymous group actively campaigning against marriage equality in Australia just linked same-sex marriage to drug abusers, homelessness, rapists, and more.
Marriage Alliance (Australia’s version of the National Organization for Marriage) is withholding nothing in their aggressive and unethical attacks against marriage equality. Last month, the group, which is trying to remain anonymous, aired an ad comparing same-sex marriage to an iceberg, implying that it looked like only one issue above water, but there were many concerns beneath the surface that no one could see. Now, their new ad campaign takes things even further by implying marriage equality leads to more childhood drug abusers, juvenile incarcerations, homelessness, and rapists.
The new ad, “Father’s Day For Everyone,” even uses a clip of President Obama saying, “I know the toll it took on me not having a father in the house. The hole in your heart that you don’t have a male figure in the home that can guide you, and lead you, and set a good example for you.†They leave out the fact that Obama was not raised in a same-sex household, and the fact that he supports marriage equality.
Marriage Alliance tries to equate children raised by same-sex parents to children raised in broken households. Here are the stats they use in their video:
- 23.9 million fatherless children in the United States
- 71% of dropouts
- 75% of children in chemical abuse centers
- 85% of youth in prison
- 70% of juveniles in state institutions
- 63% of teens who attempt suicide
- 80% of rapists
- 90% of homeless and runaway children
The video then ends by saying, “Australia is facing same-sex marriage which rejects the necessity of fathers. Some children will never celebrate Father’s Day.†Marriage Alliance is using the same failed playbook used by the National Organization for Marriage, and unfortunately they are using scare tactics by misrepresenting statistics and facts to imply children are at risk of being harmed if marriage equality is passed. You can’t lump a child raised by two loving same-sex parents into the same category as a child with a parent that abandoned his or her family. Similarly, you also can’t lump a child raised by two loving same-sex parents into the same category as a child who tragically lost a parent due to death.
If you are wondering why this organization, reportedly backed by a group of powerful Catholics, is only talking about fathers missing in a child’s life, don’t worry, they released one about lacking mothers as well. They even have another video linking marriage equality to child trafficking. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Wait a minute, they actually did. See the videos below.
Â
Image: Screenshot via Marriage Alliance/YouTube
Hat tip: Nick Duffy at PinkNews