No, not for those who support it. For those who oppose it.
We've already see how in the US presidential election, Obama's support for gay marriage delivered the small but crucial edge which led to re-election. Now, in Australia, polls show that gay marriage is a vote winner, especially among younger ppl:
Kevin Rudd's support for same-sex marriage could significantly lift Labor's vote in the election, a new poll shows.
A survey of 1000 people, conducted by Galaxy Research for Australian Marriage Equality, found 30 per cent of voters would be more likely to vote for Labor as a result of Mr Rudd's stance on the issue, while 19 per cent said they would be less likely to vote for Labor.
The Prime Minister's views were particularly popular with younger voters. A little more than half of those aged 18 to 24 were more likely to vote for Labor, compared with 18 per cent of those over 50.
(read more here)
This wasn't a major point of differentiation before Kevin Rudd's re-ascendance to the leadership of the ALP, but he came out (as it were) before he was re-elected and said he'd changed his mind about gay marriage and was now in favour of it. The Liberals (= conservatives in Oz), led by Tony Abbott (the bloke depicted on the masks in the photo above), a former seminarian, are opposed to gay marriage.
Opposition to gay marriage is now toxic for pollies. It gives the impression that they are backward, bigoted, narrow, and out of touch. And of course, they are. And it loses votes.
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