Will Australia vote on marriage equality?

The Age reports:

A major shift towards same-sex marriage is under way within the Liberal Party, with marriage equality advocates saying 11 Liberal MPs have privately switched to supporting a change since January.

Liberal MPs could discuss whether they should be granted a free vote on the issue as early as Tuesday, with Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm due to begin the parliamentary debate on his “freedom to marry” bill on Thursday.

The Liberal Democrats are a classical liberal party, with one Senator.

So far, only a small group of Liberal MPs, including frontbenchers Malcolm Turnbull, Simon Birmingham and Kelly O’Dwyer, have come out publicly in favour of same-sex marriage. 

But marriage equality advocates, who have been meeting with MPs over recent weeks, said there is now a significant change under way inside the party. 

“Since the beginning of the year, 11 Coalition MPs and senators have privately indicated to us they have switched to supporting marriage equality from being opposed or undecided,” Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome told Fairfax Media. 

It’s pretty inevitable. In the US, it is now legal in 36 states, representing 70% of the population.  In the last few years, it consistently wins at the ballot. Almost everyone under 40 is supportive of allowing same sex marriages.