Former Canberra Liberals leader Jeremy Hanson is "optimistic" for a successful "yes" vote in the same sex marriage postal survey and has called on all Liberal Party members to support that campaign.
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With almost 60 per cent of votes received, Mr Hanson and his ACT colleagues Nicole Lawder, Elizabeth Lee and Mark Parton are the only Canberra Liberals publicly supporting the campaign.
Mr Hanson said that he was "optimistic" a majority of Australians would vote yes and that "by the end of the year, we will see legislation".
But he rejected any notion on Thursday of a "split" on the issue in the party, saying that it had been a respectful debate internally, despite Opposition Leader Alistair Coe's support for the "no" campaign, along with most of the party.
Rather, Mr Hanson and the local Liberals for Yes group called on all Canberrans to back the "yes" case, with Mr Hanson saying it was "about fairness and equality" and that backing same sex marriage was "a mainstream thing to do".
Mr Hanson said he respected all views, including his colleagues and party members who decided to vote "no", but he believed the "vast majority" of Canberrans would be backing the "yes" campaign.
He dismissed concerns that no details of the federal legislation that could follow a successful "yes" vote have been released to date, and what would happen once legislation was actually debated in the federal Coalition party room.
"I understand that many of those colleagues, such as (ACT Senator) Zed Seselja, while they might personally be voting no, if a yes vote is successful, they will back the public on this," he said.
Ms Lawder, the Liberals' deputy leader, said that if, like her, people still had their survey form at home, now is the chance to have a say on the issue, and she would be mailing it out today.
Mr Parton said he was voting yes because it was "the right thing to do", and that he hoped the issue can be dealt with respectfully, in order to get on with other issues.
He said a further reason that made sense was the potential economic benefits of a "yes" vote translating into a potential boom in same sex marriages in the months after federal legislation passing.
