A SMALL-BUSINESS owner has sacked a staff member who came out in support of the “no” campaign in the same-sex marriage postal plebiscite.

Madlin Sims, who runs a party entertainment company in Canberra, said she was taking a stand on the issue, likening it to employing a staff member who posted racist material online.

The sacked contractor was a woman who took photos of events and often posted them on Facebook. “Today I fired a staff member who made it public knowledge that they feel ‘it’s okay to vote no’,” Ms Sims wrote on Sunday.

“Advertising your desire to vote no for SSM is, in my eyes, hate speech. Voting no is homophobic. Advertising your homophobia is hate speech. As a business owner I can’t have somebody who publicly represents my business posting hate speech online.

“1. Its bad for business. 2. I don’t like s**t morals. 3. I don’t want homophobes working for me, especially in an environment with children.

“It’s not okay to vote no. It’s not okay to be homophobic. This isn’t a matter of opinion or even religion. It’s a matter of the love and livelihood of real human beings. Freedom of speech is there for a reason and so are consequences. Vote against homophobia. Vote for equality. Vote yes.”

She added that it wasn’t a “you’re voting no, you’re fired situation”.

“There were prior conversations had,” she wrote. “As a business that works with children of all kinds, we have a responsibility to working with vulnerable people and having someone who is out and proud about their beliefs (of which are statistically proven to have horrible effects on young members of the gay community) is a risk for the wellbeing of the children we work with.”

She said “freedom of speech and hate speech are very different things”. “We have members of the gay community all over the world committing suicide because of inequality but we aren’t going to have anti-SSM supporters killing themselves over equality,” she wrote.

Ms Sims’ original post has been shared more than 140 times and sparked fierce debate.

“I was reading comments the other day that were saying like everyone is allowed an opinion/freedom of speech etc. etc. but like when did blatant discrimination become acceptable,” wrote Squizzy Skeels.

“Those people aren’t just having an opinion, they are discriminating against [SSM] and yes it is hate speech to come out on social media and express so.”

Rania Yallop said she had “nothing but respect”. “Good job for standing up for equality and sticking up for what you believe in will certainly getting my business in the future,” she wrote.

John Dale added that if a church could cancel a couple’s wedding because they supported same-sex marriage on Facebook, “I fail to understand how an employer should be forced to ignore an employee of an equality employer taking the same (if morally more acceptable) position”.

But Lysa Ant said it was “unfair and hypocritical”. “Some homosexuals have expressed they will vote no, are they homophobes?” she wrote. “I think you need to be respectful of people’s opinion and belief.”

Michael Duggan said firing someone for having a different opinion “makes you a bigot”. “If I was that person you sacked I’d be finding a solicitor real quick for unfair dismissal,” he wrote.

Jason Owen said voting no “doesn’t make someone a homophobe”. “Lots of people including gay people are voting no because of behaviour like this,” he wrote. “Not to mention what’s happened in countries where SSM has been legalised. I hope the person you fired takes you for unfair dismissal and wins.”

In a follow-up post responding to the controversy on Tuesday, Ms Sims said she stood by her decision to sack the contractor, despite receiving a torrent of abuse.

“This contractor was approached in a civil manner by my brother who is a friend of hers and also works for the business,” she wrote. “He got in touch with her about the damage her publicising her views could cause to friends they share who are gay.

“The contractor’s response was to verbally attack my brother and refuse to take the post down (which she is well within her human rights to do). This contractor being let go ... was not because I oppose her views on marriage equality.

“She was let go because her actions showed she is extremely out and proud about her views on homosexuals ... I stand by my decision to let go of this contractor and her actions since being let go have justified for me that I made the right choice in doing so.”

Ms Sims said she had been called “skank, whore, bitch, putrid, slut”. “Someone even brought up my stance on refugees and said they hope [my] two-year-old son gets raped for it,” she wrote. “My brother has received death threats and been called horrible names.”

News.com.au has contacted Ms Sims for comment.

On Tuesday, the Coalition for Marriage said the sacking proved the “real agenda behind same-sex marriage proponents”. “Today’s report indicates that there is an appetite on the part of ‘yes’ campaigners not only to silence, but punish, those who disagree,” Coalition for Marriage spokeswoman Monica Doumit said in a statement.

“This won’t stop if the law changes. On the contrary, same-sex marriage activists will feel emboldened by the change in law and seek out dissenters for ruin. We’ve seen it happen overseas, and you would have to be very naive to think it wouldn’t happen here.

“If same sex marriage becomes law anyone who disagrees with gay marriage could face similar situations or worse. Australians are left with no other option but to vote no.”

The Australian Bureau of Statistics began mailing out the Australian Marriage Law postal surveys last week. All survey forms should be received by September 25, and must be mailed back by October 27. The survey closes at 6pm November 7, and the results will be published on the ABS website on November 15.

It comes as a Guardian Essential poll shows public support for legalising same-sex marriage has dropped four percentage points in the past two weeks, down from 59 per cent to 55 per cent. That contrasted with an earlier Fairfax-Ipsos poll which put the “yes” vote at 70 per cent among those intending to take part in the survey.

A raft of Australian Muslim leaders have also come out against same-sex marriage. Islamic Friendship Association of Australia head Keysar Trad compared gay partnerships to incestuous relationships.

“We might love our mum and dad intensively but you don’t denigrate that love with sexual behaviour,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, a campaign called “Muslims for Marriage Equality” launched in Sydney on Monday night. The group said many Muslims were “supportive” of a yes vote but were unwilling to speak out.

frank.chung@news.com.au