Pranksters Turn AustralianChristianLobby.org Into Site for Cat Ladies

By Callie Beusman | April 30, 2013 | 4:20pm

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Like most fundamentalist lobby groups intent on forcing their old-timey views upon a population of people who are minding their own business, the Australian Christian Lobby is the worst. When they’re not attempting to silence ad campaigns meant to educate the public about HIV prevention, they’re eroding the rights of same-sex couples and encouraging women to abide by an archaic and restrictive code of morals. Like I said, the worst.

Three Melbourne feminists — Hilary Bowman-Smart, Genevieve Stewart, and Jessica Alice — who are also of this belief recently noticed that the domain name AustralianChristianLobby.org was available; the ACL had abandoned it when switching to its current web address, acl.org.au. The trio decided to buy the domain for their own organization, which they invented when they were bored waiting for the bus and talking about buying AustralianChristianLobby.org. Thus was the genesis of the second ACL (Australian Cat Ladies). In one of the most infinitely relatable statements ever made, Bowman-Smart explains, “We wanted to form a club of young Twitter feminists who love cats (this is us).”

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Like the Australian Christian Lobby, the Australian Cat Ladies are very committed to their values. Unlike the Australian Christian Lobby, however, their values are not homophobic, sexist, or ridiculously antiquated:

The vision of the Australian Cat Ladies is to see feline principles and ethics accepted and influencing the way we are governed, do business and relate to each other as a community. The ACL aims to foster a more compassionate and just society by encouraging inclusivity, actively working against oppression of all kinds, and disseminating cat .gifs wherever they may be needed.

While the ACL recognizes that all love is equal, it notes that “the love between a lady and her cat(s) is more equal than others” (cue the comments equating gay marriage and bestiality). Although the whole thing started as a joke, Bowman-Smart says that “maybe we can use it to do some good in the future.” As of now, the group’s Twitter and Facebook pages are comprised of a mix of cute pictures of cats (they’re doing a massive social good already!), advice about raising cats, and political commentary couched as cat jokes:

According to the Herald Sun, the Australian Christian Lobby has made no attempt to buy back the domain name. A post on the Australian Cat Ladies’ website, however, indicates that a particularly ruthless political opponent had purchased the domain name AustralianCatLadies.org and redirected it to acl.org.au. It’s like a hall of mirrors reflecting a cat.

As of now, AustralianCatLadies.org redirects to a Google image search for “dogs.” Ugh, politics are so distasteful.

“Cat Ladies snatch Australian Christian Lobby’s domain name” [the Herald Sun]