Marriage Alliance says same-sex marriage ring 'could be an OH & S issue'

Marriage Alliance says same-sex marriage ring 'could be an OH & S issue'

AN anti-same-sex marriage spokeswoman claimed a new equality campaign posed a serious ‘OH & S issue’ during an ABC News interview last night — and the interviewer could barely conceal her stumped reaction.

Marriage Alliance spokeswoman Sophie York was a guest on ABC News 24 to discuss Airbnb Australia’s announcement this week that they would sell specially crafted rings in support of marriage equality.

Each ‘acceptance ring’ forms an incomplete circle, with the words ‘until we all belong’ engraved on its interior. The rings “symbolise the gap in marriage equality that we need to close. Wear this ring and show your acceptance of marriage equality,” say Airbnb on the campaign website.

Qantas and Google have both thrown their support behind the campaign, announcing that they would provide rings for employees to wear should they wish.

To York, the public face of an organisation that campaigns against the legalisation of same-sex marriage, this is all clearly a workplace health hazard.

“I think that people will feel quite pressured, if their bosses have bought or provided the rings, or there’s been a flyer go out saying ‘these rings are available’, and also if a number of people are wearing them,” she said.

“And, um, it may even be an OH & S issue. I mean, the gap could catch, that ring could catch on things. There are many considerations to this, but we’re talking about the impact on the worker,” she continued.

Imagine. Qantas planes plummeting out of the sky because the flight attendant’s equality ring caught on the cabin door. Servers crashing because some poor lackey at Google HQ pressed the wrong key with his equality ring. It all makes sense.

Feel free to save newsreader Gemma Veness’s stupefied reaction shot to your desktop so you can use it the next time you’re met with a truly dumb argument: