Alva Review-Courier -

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Nearly two-thirds of Australians supported gay marriage in a postal survey that ensures Parliament will consider legalizing same-sex weddings this year, although the form any law would take and its allowances for religious objections sparked immediate debate.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday that 62 percent of registered voters who responded in the unprecedented mail survey favored reform. The conservative government promised to allow a bill creating marriage equality to be considered in Parliament in the final two-week session that is due to end on...