Same-sex marriage and LGBTIQ rights

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Same-sex marriage and LGBTIQ rights
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Same-sex marriage and LGBTIQ rights
Introduction
The analyses of same-sex marriage as published in different media outlets has let to
varied views and opinions across the globe. However, this topic has been claimed to gain
popularity due to the influence of the findings and different related stories posted on the media
outlets. The ease of access to this information has been the key contributor to the emerging
same-sex marriages and the campaigns for the LGBTIQ rights in Australia (Perales, Francisco,
and Gary 2018). In this report, the two media outlets have been chosen for the study are online
and print media due to their extremes in the usage by the people. Furthermore, studies indicate
that the online media are turning out to be dominant over the other outlets while the print media
is the oldest media especially the newspaper although they still attract many readers. The report
will focus on the ways that both the media has contributed towards making the same-sex and
LGBT rights attract the attention of the readers. The report will also highlight how the media has
contributed to the popularity of the topic in Australia.
Background information
In Australia, the gay marriage was brought to parliament in 2004 by the Howard
Government. Since then, there were continual debates and discussions over the subject until in
2013 where the same-sex law was passed by the Capital Territory of Australia but was then
struck down by the Australian High Court basing on the inconsistency with the federal law.
Additionally, the decisions by the courts blocked the possibilities that would lead to the
challenging of the federal laws over the same-sex marriages. Later on 7th December 2017 the

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parliament again passed the law legalizing the same-sex marriages which received the royal
assent on the following day thus making it the law until today.
Reports further claim that between September 2004 when the bill was first brought to
parliament and October 2017, there were reported 22 unsuccessful attempts by the federal
parliament to legalize and recognize the same-sex marriage under the Australian federal laws
(Perales, Francisco, and Gary, 2018). The former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his
time in office supported the motion when the parliament legalized the same-sex marriages.
Moreover, the Turnbull Government went into the federal elections of 2016 with the policy to
legalize the same-sex marriages among his campaign strategies who was then narrowly re-
elected. However, the issue was a non-constitutional clause and therefore, was rejected by the
Australian Senate in November 2016.
However, between 12th September and 7th November, the Australian Government
conducted a voluntary survey that was postal across the country to collect the views of the
citizens over the legalization of the same-sex marriage. The survey despite being contrary to the
ethics that required the approval of the parliament was conducted against the parliament policies
even though being legally challenged in court by some individuals. The government further
pledged with the high court to uphold and facilitate the legalization of the topic should the
majority of the Australians vote “Yes” in the postal survey. The results of the survey were
announced on 15th November in 2017 whereby 61.6% of the participants had voted for the gay
couples. This led to the legalization and has hit the online and print media among others with
different critics until today.

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Research outline
The research utilizes the previous studies conducted on the gay couples and the rights of
the LGBTIQ community. From the literature reviews, the research will link the findings and the
results obtained over the impacts of the media outlets on the support of the topic. Additionally,
the report will outline the impacts of the print and online and their credibility concerning the
topic in Australia. Concisely, the research report will discuss the research question in the
discussion section and the limitations of the previous studies.
The research question
Is the credibility of online media sufficient to champion for the rights of the gay
community or the print media still holds an upper hand on credibility of the media outlets?
Critical literature review
There have been studies conducted that are related to this topic of research by many
scholars across the world. However, the scholars have elaborated how the media especially the
online and print media have been the key players in attracting the reader’s attention over the
subject. Concisely, while some scholars have critically pointed out and diminished the same-sex
marriages, some have sided with the topic claiming that in democratic states, for instance in the
United States, everyone should have their own will and the ability to exercise the freedom of
expression (Schulman, 2018). Additionally, some churches in the US have approved the same-
sex marriages and advocated for the rights of the LGBT community after the legalization of the
same-sex marriages by the US government. This was after the US Supreme Court struck down
all the bans on the same-sex marriages on 26th June 2015 in all the 50 states (Lannutti, 2018,
pp.85-100). After this step was taken by the American governance, the media outlets all over the