Horrific homophobic posters have appeared depicting two men holding rainbow-coloured nooses over a cowering child.
The hateful image was spotted in Heffernan Lane in the heart of Melbourne’s central business district on Saturday.
A photo of the poster provoked an outraged response on social media, even attracting the ire of opposition leader Bill Shorten.
Horrific homophobic posters (pictured) have appeared depicting two men holding rainbow-coloured nooses over a hunched-over and cowering child
The posters were spotted by a Twitter user (pictured) in the heart of Melbourne’s central business district
Opposing posters (pictured) telling people to vote ‘Yes’ can be seen in other parts of Melbourne
The poster, titled ‘Stop the F*gs’, claims 92 per cent of children raised by gay parents suffer from abuse.
It says that 52 per cent are depressed and 72 per cent are obese.
The poster referenced a discredited 2016 study by Reverend Paul Sullins from the Catholic University of America.
Gay rights activist Rodney Croome said the Australian Institute for Family Studies found children raised by same-sex couples had the same outcomes as other children, contradicting claims made in the poster.
One social media user rushed to the scene (pictured) to remove the offending posters but found a clean-up already under way
‘Overall, research evidence indicates that children raised in same-sex parented families do as well emotionally, socially and educationally as other children,’ he said.
Some Twitter users were quick to take action, with one person arriving at the scene to take it down only to find a clean up already in progress.
Mr Shorten retweeted an article about the offending poster, apologising to those who might have been hurt by it.
‘Labor opposed this postal survey because we feared exactly this kind of hurtful filth would emerge,’ Mr Shorten wrote.
The posters appeared just days after Sydney was hit by similar anti-gay marriage leaflets, posted in letterboxes in the southern Sydney suburb of Hurstville (pictured is the rainbow flag flying over Sydney’s Town Hall.
“This kind of garbage isn’t “debate”, it’s abuse. I’m so sorry that LGBTI Australians have to put up with it. Let’s make sure there’s an overwhelming ‘Yes’ vote in response.’
Former prime minister Tony Abbott warned of potential consequences for religious educators, adoption agencies and school programs if same-sex marriage was legalised.
‘If we have officially sanctioned de-gendering marriage, it’s very hard not to see de-gendering come in in so many other areas as well,’ he said.
‘It isn’t just about marriage. Sure, marriage is the immediate focus, but there are lots and lots of implications here, and we’ve got to think them through before we take this big leap into what I think is the dark.’
Bill Shorten (pictured) tweeted about the offending poster, apologising to those who might have been hurt by it
Australia is preparing for a postal plebiscite on gay marriage, and voters have until August 24 to update their details or enrol.
The posters appeared just days after Sydney was hit by similar anti-gay marriage leaflets, posted in letterboxes in the southern Sydney suburb of Hurstville.
The flyers, written in English and Chinese, stated: ‘Homosexuality is a curse of death in terminating the family line and without decedents.’ (sic)
The letter also warned of HIV/AIDS and a risk to women’s safety in public bathrooms.
Australia is preparing for a postal plebiscite on gay marriage, and voters have until August 24 to update their details or enrol (pictured is the rainbow flag flying over Sydney’s Town Hall)