Here’s the new rule in Australia: you can’t get same-flavor ice cream scoops at Ben & Jerry’s until same-sex marriage is legal in that country.
As part of the company’s push to pressure the Australian legislature to legalize gay marriage, it announced the new policy Wednesday in a press release.
“Imagine heading down to your local Scoop Shop to order your favourite two scoops of Cookie Dough in a waffle cone. But you find out you are not allowed – Ben & Jerry’s has banned two scoops of the same flavour. You’d be furious!” the press release reads.
“But this doesn’t even begin to compare to how furious you would be if you were told you were not allowed to marry the person you love.”
In Australia, former prime minister Tony Abbott had previously promised to hold a plebiscite, or public poll, on marriage equality, but the proposed vote was shot down in parliament, as Australia’s liberal Labour Party argued a national referendum was unnecessary and may expose Australian LGBTQ youth to bullying and trauma, according to Global News.
The Australian Senate later released a report recommending the parliament hold a free vote on the issue, which Ben & Jerry’s supports. However, the Australian parliament session is slated to end soon, and so now the ice cream company is pushing for a vote now, according to Fortune.
In Australia, polls from last year had support for marriage equality at 62 percent, according to The Guardian, and a recent poll from February indicated that 71 percent of Australians preferred a parliamentary vote compared to a plebiscite, the results of which would not be binding.
Ben & Jerry’s will also set up mailboxes in its 26 Australian stores where customers can send letters to members of parliament demanding a free vote.
Advocacy, especially for progressive causes, is nothing new for Ben & Jerry’s. In the U.S., the company has publicly expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement, unveiled a special flavor in recognition of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage and removed several flavors from its line-up to highlight the issue of climate change. The company’s co-founders have even been arrested at the U.S. Capitol during a protest on campaign finance reform.