Australians continue tradition of 'democracy sausages' for marriage equality
Australians have an insatiable need to throw back a "democracy sausage" sandwich after voting — and this weekend, they're continuing the sacred national rite.
Questionably cheap snags (which is what Aussies call sausages) in cheap white bread lathered in cheap sauce usually make an appearance at every Australian election polling booth. With a non-compulsory, nationwide postal survey regarding same-sex marriage under way, the snags are up again, with Australians encouraged to throw a post-vote barbecue for equality.
Running Oct. 7–8, LGBTQ collective Heaps Gay and the Equality Campaign's Snags for Equality Weekender will see Australian venues, businesses and communities putting on sausage sizzles. Aussies have been encouraged to submit their postal vote, encourage their friends and family to do the same, then hit up a sizzle for an #equalitysausage.
“We all love a sausage sizzle after a vote, so we’re firing up the barbie to celebrate democracy and equality," said Heaps Gay spokesperson Kat Dopper.
Australians are so into their post-vote snag that ABC journalist Michael Rowland brought the barbecue to the U.S. on Election Day 2016, sharing democracy sausages with the voting citizens of Washington, D.C.
Australians can check out the event website to find out which local venues throwing a barbecue or to register their own party. This sausage sizzle marathon is an offshoot of the Equality Weekender, a nationwide registration drive which saw over 100 venues transform into temporary, official electoral registration booths in August.
Australian postal surveys asking the question, “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?” were sent out starting Sept. 12. Australians will have until Nov. 7 to mail it back to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Then, the survey results will be announced on Nov. 15, after which the issue will be voted upon in federal parliament.
The $122 million voluntary survey has been a point of controversy, with marriage equality supporters calling it a stalling tactic. Several polls have already found the majority of Australians are in favour of same-sex marriage.
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
