'Someone should give you a blast of a shotgun': Death threat among one of the many vile letters sent to senator over his push to legalise gay marriage 

  • Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm got the note on Wednesday
  • It came as he prepared to debate his Freedom To Marry Bill in the senate
  • The letter calls him a 'filthy animal' and threatens a curse on his family
  • Leyonhjelm has received many homophobic letters and emails
  • 'This does not reflect well on the company people who oppose our Freedom to Marry Bill are keeping,' the politician said  

By Sarah Dean for Daily Mail Australia and Aap

Published: 23:16 EST, 26 March 2015 | Updated: 00:50 EST, 27 March 2015

A politician's push for same-sex marriage to be legalised in Australia has earned him scores of homophobic hate mail and even death threats.

One handwritten note sent to Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm on Wednesday calls him a 'filthy animal' and states 'someone should give you a blast of shotgun. Preferably in the stomach'.

Senator Leyonhjelm's Freedom To Marry Bill aims to 'prevent the government from stopping two people from getting married on the grounds that they are not a man and a woman'.

The vile note sent to him by one anonymous homophobe not only threatens his life but also warns 'there will be a curse on you and your family'.

But the politician, who has been together with the woman he calls his 'wife' for 30 years although choosing not to legally marry, has vowed not to be deterred from having his bill debated.

'We actively support freedom of speech, but this does not reflect well on the company people who oppose our Freedom to Marry Bill are keeping,' Senator Leyonhjelm told Daily Mail Australia.

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Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm has received homophobic hate mail from some of those opposed to gay marriage 

Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm has received homophobic hate mail from some of those opposed to gay marriage 

One handwritten note not only threatens his life but also warns 'there will be a curse on you and your family'

One handwritten note not only threatens his life but also warns 'there will be a curse on you and your family'

His office has binned many of the threatening letters and the Senator is concerned that his staff have to deal with this kind of correspondence.

Amongst the emails and letters he has received is a 14-page document that claims to be 'evidence indicating the inappropriateness of sponsoring same sex marriages'. 

The 7,000 word rambling missive that the Senator received also compares homosexuality to 'alcoholism, paedophilia, gambling, raping'. 

'If we assume homosexuality is genetically based, it still does not make it desirable or appropriate,' the letter says.

One man, calling himself a Liberal supporter, wrote: 'Perhaps you could propose another form of Marriage Act for those who do not want to associate themselves with homosexual (or any other fringe sexuality) union.'

Another email says: 'Homosexuals are not born homosexuals... Homosexuality is a choice. Choices are influenced by our inherent sinful nature and the pervertedness of the society in which we live.'

Senator Leyonhjelm's Freedom To Marry Bill aims to get the government out of people's bedrooms

Senator Leyonhjelm's Freedom To Marry Bill aims to get the government out of people's bedrooms

One email from someone claiming to be a doctor reads homosexuality can't 'be condoned in our society'

One email from someone claiming to be a doctor reads homosexuality can't 'be condoned in our society'

Amongst the emails and letters he has received is a 14-page document that claims to be 'evidence indicating the inappropriateness of sponsoring same sex marriages'

Amongst the emails and letters he has received is a 14-page document that claims to be 'evidence indicating the inappropriateness of sponsoring same sex marriages'

One email from someone claiming to be a doctor reads: 'How come you are a qualified vet and yet you don't seem to realise that bisexuality, pedophilia and homosexuality are all biological defects of sexual attraction. None of these can be condoned in our society.'

Many of the letters warn of a 'harmful' effect on society if the bill is passed.

'All my Freedom to Marry Bill does is prevent the government from stopping two people from getting married on the grounds that they are not a man and a woman,' the senator wrote in an article for the Sydney Morning Herald this week.

'It's based on the view that people ought to have the freedom to choose their own life path. As John Stuart Mill said, "over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign".'

One man, calling himself a Liberal supporter, wrote: 'Perhaps you could propose another form of Marriage Act for those who do not want to associate themselves with homosexual'

One man, calling himself a Liberal supporter, wrote: 'Perhaps you could propose another form of Marriage Act for those who do not want to associate themselves with homosexual'

Before hoping to present his bill to the Senate on Thursday, Leyonhjelm wrote: 'My bill requires nothing more than tolerance – a decision to stop minding other people's business.'

However, the parliamentary debate on legalising same-sex marriage is now on hold for a few months.

The Senate was scheduled to debate the private bill on Thursday, only for it to make way for the government's data retention legislation.

But Senator Leyonhjelm says any debate would have been 'somewhat artificial' without Liberals being allowed a conscience vote.

'I do have a very good speech ready,' he told reporters in Canberra.

It's likely a debate on Leyonhjelm's bill won't take place until mid-June at the earliest. 

 

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