The results of the "same sex marriage"

survey will become available today.
The answer will likely be "yes" and then the government will be criticised for "running a giant opinion poll" and "wasting taxpayer money". 
In the unlikely event the answer is "no" then the government will be criticised for allowing people to have their say and the demands will start all over again.
The debate of course is not yet over. There now has to be legislation go before parliament - and the nature of that legislation is going to be hotly debated.  It won't be as simple as saying "yes, same sex couples should be allowed to participate in a ceremony and say 'we are married in a way the law recognises' ".
The "no" campaigners also argued for the need for religious freedoms to be respected and for education about sexuality to be removed from schools.
I suppose I am "agnostic". I believe in the tenets of the Christian faith - the Ten Commandments and the "love one another" principles without which society cannot function. I don't believe in some of the stories except as being stories to try and provide people who could neither read or write with answers to some of the big questions about life. 
And it doesn't bother me in the slightest if people of the same sex wish to live together and make a commitment to one another and call it "marriage". My only cousin is in just such a relationship and his partner is one of the nicest people I know. I am very glad he is part of our family - and has always been accepted as such. Their relationship is recognised in the country they live in and I believe it should be recognised here.
I also know that not everyone feels that way. It has been the cause of much bitterness and division in some places - even in places other than religious institutions, places which are supposed to be "tolerant" of a wide range of  beliefs. I am sorry that has happened. 
I have no idea what the answer is to such a problem.
Yesterday I had a message from someone who, I suspect, is far from happy about the debate. He believes parliament should "just have legislated to change the marriage act" and "they should ignore all those people who say that it is against their beliefs in fairy tales". He wanted me to write a letter to the paper putting forward his point of view. I told him to write his own - and no, I wouldn't help him write it. 
There was a furious response. Our "friendship" is apparently at an end. It was never more than a casual acquaintanceship so it doesn't bother me at all. I am much more concerned by what will happen when law and beliefs clash in the wider community.