Andrew Leigh

MARRIAGE EQUALITY – ONE YEAR ON

The Chronicle, 4 December 2018

One of the most magical moments I’ve experienced in parliament was on 7 December 2017, when we passed marriage equality.

In the galleries, hundreds of LGBT+ campaigners stood and applauded. Then they began to sing:

We are one, but we are many

And from all the lands on earth we come

We'll share a dream and sing with one voice

I am, you are, we are Australian.

In the year since, thousands of same-sex couples across Australia have tied the knot, including more than 100 in Canberra. Among the first were Christiana McDonald-Spicer and Annie, who tied the knot in January. Annie told Junkee she found the postal survey ‘unintended and very stressful’, but says that now ‘no circumstances, such as hospital emergencies, can anyone take that away from us’.

As Canberra celebrates with a mini Mardi Gras in Braddon and pedestrian traffic lights that depict two men holding hands, it’s a reminder of the positive spirit that characterises our city. We’re not just the nation’s capital – we’re the social capital – with space for everyone to flourish.

Andrew Leigh is the Federal Member for Fenner, and his website is www.andrewleigh.com.

ENDS

Authorised by Noah Carroll, ALP, Canberra.