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A 38-year-old man was on Friday charged for allegedly assaulting former prime minister of Australia, Tony Abbot, for opposing same sex marriage.
The incident occured in the Tasmanian city of Hobart. Police said the man was charged with ‘Common Assault’ after Abbot reported that he was “headbutted” by a man wearing a ‘yes’ badge in support of same-sex marriage on Thursday evening
The former PM sustained minor injuries rom the attack including a swollen lip.
This month, Australia began a non-compulsory postal vote to decide whether to legalise same-sex marriage.
The emotionally charged campaign has seen an alarming volume of hate speech, spurring parliament to pass emergency legislation to outlaw opponents spewing their vitriol while the vote was in progress.
Abbott is actively campaigning for the ‘no’ side.
According to reports, earlier this month, the godson of former prime minister Kevin Rudd was allegedly assaulted in Brisbane by a man who was tearing down rainbow flags put up in support of same-sex marriage.
In May, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, who is openly gay, had a lemon meringue pie launched at his face in a protest about his advocacy for same-sex marriage.