By Kiley Crossland
(WNS)–Ahead of a national ballot survey on gay marriage, an Australian regulatory agency said a television commercial celebrating Father’s Day was too political. The ad by Australian nonprofit Dads4Kids featured a father singing his baby a lullaby. The organization had released ads leading up to Australian Father’s Day on Sept. 3 for the last 15 years to encourage and honor dads.
This year’s ad was rejected because it was a “comment upon a matter which is currently the subject of extensive political debate,” said legal advice sent to Dads4Kids by Free TV Australia, an industry body representing all of the country’s free-to-air networks, according to The Australian. The Australian government is currently holding a postal vote, or mail-in referendum, to gauge public opinion on legalizing same-sex marriage. Depending on the results, Parliament could vote on the issue later this year.
“It is extraordinary that this is where we have come to as a country; we can no longer celebrate Father’s Day without being forced to look at it through the lens of the same-sex marriage debate,” Dads4Kids said in a statement on its website. “It’s a tragedy that a political motive is now implied in any mention of fatherhood. Not everything is about same-sex marriage.”
