Shattered ‘no’ voters have licked their wounds behind closed doors after more than 61 per cent of Australia supported legalising same-sex marriage.
Lyle Shelton, the head of the Coalition for Marriage, called the result ‘disappointing’, but did manage to offer ‘congratulations to the Yes campaign’ on Twitter.
While thousands of ‘yes’ supporters packed into public spaces across the nation, Mr Shelton and supporters watched the announcement in private at a hotel in Sydney.
With the result always expected to see a win for the ‘yes’ vote, Coalition for Marriage supporters planned little in terms of post-result events – with Mr Shelton fronting the media to make a somber statement after the announcement.
Vowing ‘to protect Australian kids from being exposed to radical… sex education in the classrooms’, Mr Shelton said he hoped the vote would not have ‘consequences’.
A ‘disappointed’ Lyle Shelton, the head of the Coalition for Marriage, has vowed to protect kids ‘from being exposed to radical… sex education in the classrooms’ after the yes vote result
A handful of opponents of legalising same-sex marriage gathered alongside Mr Shelton inside a Sydney hotel room as the announcement was made (pictured)
Mr Shelton, who has been a controversial figure throughout the campaign, said he hoped the vote would not have ‘consequences’ for Australia
‘Those who seek to deceive parents or deny them information about what their kids learn in school will find themselves called to account by millions of Australian mums and dads who now know what is at stake,’ he said.
‘Those who seek to place restrictions on freedom of speech or freedom of belief will face tough opposition from millions of Australians who understand how a change in law is used to silence those who disagree.
‘Those who seek to push these ideologies through our schools and institutions will not get away with it so easily.’
It comes after members of the Coalition for Marriage were targeted by ‘yes’ voters in the hours before the announcement, with one having their car windows smashed.
Sharing a photo on social media of the major damage to the car, Mr Shelton dubbed the act ‘unacceptable and unAustralian… by either side’.
With the ‘yes’ campaign winning the vote on Wednesday with 61.6 per cent support, those against legalising same-sex marriage are bracing for more abuse.
A spokesperson for the Coalition for Marriage told Daily Mail Australia three mums at the front of an ad against same-sex marriage are expecting to cop more abuse today.
Hours before the announcement, Coalition for Marriage boss Lyle Shelton took to Twitter to share a photo of a car belonging to a volunteer which had its windows smashed in (pictured)
Mr Shelton, who has been a controversial figure in the vote, said the ‘behaviour by either side is unacceptable and unAustralian’
By contrast thousands of ‘yes’ supporters gathered at Prince Alfred Park in Sydney for the vote announcement
Labelled everything from ‘dumb c***s’ to ‘bigots’, one woman even received a threat from a ‘yes voter’ who vowed to ‘f**k her children’ if they were gay, in September.
A spokesperson for the Coalition for Marriage said while the abuse had died down in the months since the campaign began, it was expected to heat up after the result.
Among shocking messages sent to the women were abuse and threats of violence to both them and their families.
‘F**k you and f**k your spastic kids,’ one wrote, while another said: ‘Dumb c**t’.
‘You’re a disgusting f**king disgrace of not only a mother, but a human being,’ said one man.
‘You are a horrid mother and should be ashamed to call yourself Australian,’ another wrote.
Mrs McIvor (pictured with her husband Julian) received threats including that her church in the country Victorian town of Sale would be burnt to the ground
It comes as the Coalition for Marriage revealed three women who featured in a TV ad against same-sex marriage are preparing for more death threats and vitriolic abuse after the result
The women received an influx of gay porn and threats of sexual assault towards their children (above)
The three women fronted the controversial TV ad which was funded by the Coalition for Marriage
Federal politicians painted a troubling picture of Australia if same-sex marriage was legalised in recent days, naming a number of fears of what a ‘yes’ vote would mean.
Among their fears were parents losing rights to object to gay sex education, workers being sacked for expressing an opinion and bakers taken to court over cake.
Even Labor senators are worried, with several backbenchers voting against same-sex marriage on religious freedom grounds, to the chagrin of their leader Bill Shorten.
In September, a Canberra woman was fired for saying ‘It’s okay to vote no’ on Facebook, with her boss Madlin Sims calling it ‘homophobic hate speech’.
Ms Sims, who runs a party entertainment company, said the woman was fired because she was ‘extremely out and proud about her views on homosexuals.’
‘As someone who has an responsibility to the vulnerable people we work with, could not risk her voicing those opinions to any children of ours,’ she said.
Madlin Sims justified firing a woman in September because she was ‘extremely out and proud about her views on homosexuals’