Senator Uses a Dan Savage Quote to Attack Marriage Equality

Bob Day, an Australian senator known for his opposition to marriage equality, spoke out Friday against same-sex unions during a reading of a marriage equality bill by using a quote from gay columnist Dan Savage about how having one partner is "unrealistic and unnatural," reports Gay Star News.

In his speech, the senator, who is a member of the conservative Family First Party, said he found it "shameful that activists for marriage equality assume that opponents must be bigots."

Along with quoting gay columnist Dan Savage, Day also quoted Dennis Altman, a gay Australian academic, who he credited with saying that gay men are "unfaithful."

Day referenced "monogamish," a word that Dan Savage is credited with coining. "The term 'monogamish' --monogamy as a kind of 'monogamish' -- has now been coined, a sort of 'open marriage' -- a tautology if ever I heard one in this brave new world -- as they feel a restriction to one partner is unrealistic and unnatural," Day said.

To defend his argument against marriage equality, Day also quoted Altman, who once said:

"Now I am going to speak as a gay man: one of the things about gay male culture is that it is not a monogamous culture. All the evidence we have suggests that monogamy is a myth. There are many longstanding gay relationships. There are virtually no longstanding monogamous gay relationships.'

The Australian Senate has not yet voted on marriage equality, reports Gay Star News.