Marriage Heats Up Australian Election

As the Australian election campaign enters its final hours, candidates continue to be pressed on their opposition to marriage equality.

According to Agence France-Presse, marriage equality advocates are frustrated that Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her opponent Tony Abbott oppose the freedom to marry despite recent advances in countries including Spain, Portugal, and Argentina.

"On Friday, Labor leader Gillard told The Australian newspaper she rejected same-sex weddings because 'the marriage act has a special status in our culture,' adding that she appreciated 'our heritage as a Christian country,'" reported AFP.

Gillard is an unmarried atheist who lives with her male partner. Abbott is a married Catholic with children.

"The former trainee priest said that while he did not support same-sex marriage, he hoped he would 'always find it in my heart to treat people the way everyone should be treated -- with dignity and respect,'" reported AFP.