Aussie wedding magazine closes down after gay boycott

A wedding magazine has been forced to shut its doors because its Christian owners refused to include same-sex weddings in its pages.

On Saturday, White magazine announced it was closing down after 12 years in the wake of the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia because they “had not yet featured all couples”.

Owners Luke and Carla Burrell said the publication and its advertisers had been targeted through a boycott campaign because of their stance on marriage equality.

“The result has been that a number of advertisers withdrew their sponsorship out of fear of being judged, or in protest,” they wrote in a statement on their blog. “We have had to recognise the reality that White Magazine is no longer economically viable.”

The owners also claimed that, “Couples who have featured in our magazine have also been the subject of online abuse despite their individual beliefs.”

The Burrells said that “White Magazine has always been a secular publication, but as its publishers, we are Christian.”

They explained that, “We have no desire to create a social, political or legal war, which only divides people further and does more damage than good. To us, our faith is anchored in love without judgement.”

They owners insisted that “We have no agenda but to love” and “we’re about love, patience and kindness” but it’s unclear why they did not apply these values to accepting same-sex couples.

Same-sex marriage was only legalised in Australia in December last year after 61.6% of Australians voted in favour of marriage equality in a divisive postal survey.