I do not believe people choose their sexuality; they are gay if they are born gay. It is how people are built, and therefore the idea that this is somehow an abnormal condition is wrong . . . . If you accept it is natural and normal to be gay, then it follows from that . . . people should not be denied the opportunity for legal recognition . . . of their relationship.
Rudd was raised Catholic and attends Anglican services with his wife, but has never formally renounced Catholicism. Liberal Party opposition leader Tony Abbott, a staunch Catholic, believes marriage should be restricted to a man and a woman. Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, an atheist, ousted by Rudd in a Labor party revolt last June, also firmly opposed same-sex marriage.
Parliament rejected a same-sex marriage bill by large majorities in 2012, but Rudd has promised, if a Labor government is returned to Parliament, to introduce a new same-sex marriage bill within the first hundred days. The election will be held on September 7.
