A leading wedding magazine in Australia
is shutting down after it refused to include gay and lesbian couples.
According to the BBC, White
Magazine was forced to shutter after its Christian owners,
couple Luke and Carla Burrell, refused to feature gay couples.
Australia legalized same-sex marriage in December.
The Burrells said that they had
“experienced a flood of judgment.”
“Instead of allowing us the space to
work through our thoughts and feelings, or being willing to engage in
brave conversations to really hear each other's stories, some have
just blindly demanded that we pick a side,” the couple said in a
statement posted on the magazine's website.
“We're not about sides, we're about
love, patience and kindness. A campaign was launched targeting the
magazine, our team and our advertisers. Couples who have featured in
our magazine have also been the subject of online abuse despite their
individual beliefs. We’re really saddened by this. The result has
been that a number of advertisers withdrew their sponsorship out of
fear of being judged, or in protest. We have had to recognize the
reality that White Magazine is no longer economically viable,”
they added.
In August, photographer Lara Hotz, who
is married to a woman, told media about the magazine's decision not
to include gay couples. Hotz had shot three covers for the magazine.