Poll shows minority of Australians want gay marriage vote
CANBERRA, Australia - An opinion poll has shown that a minority of Australians support the government's plan to hold a national vote on whether gay marriage should be allowed.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government argues that its election victory in July gives it a mandate to hold a non-binding national vote known as a plebiscite in February to decide whether same-sex marriage should be legalized.
But the poll published in The Australian newspaper on Thursday showed the only 39 percent of voters thought there should be such a plebiscite, while 48 percent said lawmakers should decide the issue without a national vote. Another 13 percent of respondents were undecided.
