Tony Abbott, The Australian Prime Minister Who Opposes Gay Marriage, Was Just Kicked Out Of Office
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is known to most Americans one of the few Western leaders who opposed marriage equality. Well, we should say was known— the 57-year-old Liberal Party pol was just ousted after a leadership fight ended his term after less than two years.
Abbott opposed the freedom to marry despite support for it from nearly 70% of Australians, and the fact that his own sister is a lesbian.
His stubborn stance sparked outrage from Katy Perry and Ruby Rose (who called him a "sexist bigot"), and led two college students to launch a campaign sending potatoes to his office.
Abbott recently pushed a plebiscite, or public vote, on the issue to 2017.
Incoming PM Malcolm Turnbull, who defeated Abbott 54-44 in a party vote, has a more progressive record than his predecessor and supports marriage equality, laxer immigration policies and climate-change initiatives.
Activists hope he'll call for a referendum on marriage equality this year.