Several churches in Australia were vandalised by same-sex marriage supporters. Such conflicts have become increasingly frequent in Australia as the country is in the midst of deciding whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage.
According to The Christian Institute, two churches in Melbourne were graffitied. Those who perpetrated the vandalism called those who hold to a traditional view of marriage “bigots” who should be “crucified.” The perpetrators also drew swastikas on the churches.
In addition to this vandalism, a woman who supports a traditional view of marriage received death threats and another Christian woman lost her job because she expressed her opposition to changing the definition of marriage.
Australia is currently holding a referendum on whether same-sex marriage should be legalized. Australian residents are participating in a mail-in survey on the issue which needs to be completed by Nov. 7, 2017, after which time support for changing the definition of marriage to legally include same-sex couples will be weighed.
Pastor David O’Brien, Senior Pastor of Waverly Baptist Church, one of the churches which was vandalized, said the incident was “disturbing and concerning.”
Monica Doumit of the Coalition for Marriage (Australia) added that “One thing that this process has revealed is that, despite the rhetoric, ‘Yes’ campaigners do not actually believe in a tolerant society, where people are allowed to ‘live and let live’. Rather, they will target those who disagree for abuse, for boycott, or for some other type of punishment.”
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Publication date: October 18, 2017