REPORT: Thousands rally for gay marriage rights before Australian postal vote closes

Thousands of people rallied around Australia on Saturday urging the legalization of same-sex marriage, one week before final ballots can be submitted in a contentious postal survey on the issue that has divided the country.

The largest crowd was in Sydney, where organizers said between five and ten thousand people gathered in front of Central Station before marching through the city.

Protesters in Sydney listened to various speakers including deputy leader of the opposition, Tanya Plibersek, with banners in the crowd reading “I'm voting yes” and “More glitter, less bitter, vote yes”
Ballots were mailed out from Sept. 12, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recommending all votes be returned via the postal service by Oct. 27.

The latest update from the ABS, issued on Oct. 17, showed almost 11 million postal votes had been returned which was about 68 per cent of the total distributed.

The result is expected Nov. 15.

 

To watch the full report, please click on the video above.