Australians say yes to marriage equality in historic vote

Australians have made history, voting overwhelming in favor of marriage equality. 61.1% of those participating voted yes.

79.5% of people voted, and statistician David Kalisch said that was “outstanding for a voluntary survey,” reports The Guardian.

All age groups had participation rates above 70%, with more people voting in older age groups, but even 18 and 19 year-olds responded with nearly 80% participating.

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Here is how the voting broke down by region:

The yes vote on the non-binding postal survey now means that pressure is on parliament to move forward on legislation that would allow same-sex couples to wed in the country. It is free to not pass legislation, but this development means to do so would be to directly ignore the will of the Australian people.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged not to allow a discriminatory bill to get through that would have allowed “religious freedom” exceptions.

“The Australian people have had their say, and they have voted overwhelming yes for marriage equality,” Turnbull noted in a video released shortly after the results came in.

“They voted overwhelmingly for fairness, for commitment, for love,” he added.

“Now, it’s our job, as the Australian Parliament, all of us here, to get on with it, and get this done before Christmas,” he concluded.

“This happened because millions of Australians reached out to our own families, neighborhoods, organizations – to stand up for equality, stand by our loved ones and share why YES was so important,” said Alex Greenwich, of the Equality Campaign.