How Australia's slow march toward same-sex marriage compares to the US

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Most of Australia's western counterparts have already embraced the idea of same sex marriage, which has the country world wondering: Why has it taken Australia so long?

This week, Australians overwhelmingly voted in favor of changing the law to allow same-sex marriage.

Despite Australia's role as host of one of the world's largest LGBTQI pride parades, Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras, it has lagged behind other Western countries on LGBTQI rights, including same-sex marriage.

While campaigning for LGBTQI rights has been an uphill battle in Australia and also the US, in 2015 same-sex marriage was legalized by the US Supreme Court in a landmark 5-4 decision.

And now, more than two years later, Australia's federal government has pledged to pass legislation before the end of 2017.

Here's how Australia's march toward legalizing same-sex marriage compares to the US: