Page 3506 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 22 October 2014
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It was really good for you to share the stories of your uncles; that was great. But as Mr Barr said—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Through the chair, Ms Berry, please.
MS BERRY: Sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker. It was really great for Mr Hanson to share those stories in the chamber, but the whole point of this is that they chose not to get married. Chris and Dylan, Amy and Jess and all of the other people who want to do not have that choice. That is the whole point of marriage equality: you get to choose. Like Mr Barr, I am a bit sick of it. You should just stop, because it is just starting to get a bit overdone.
One year ago, the crowd in the public gallery was overflowing with supporters for marriage equality and there was spontaneous applause when it passed. It was a moment that was special, and it still is today. As a result of our marriage equality act, 31 couples were married—couples who had previously been told that they could not express or formalise their love in the same way as other couples in our community.
I felt it was fitting to reflect on this legislation and what it meant to couples 12 months ago. It is just as fitting today. I asked people to let me know what marriage equality means to them one year on. This is what Meg had to say:
We were one of 31 couples who had the privilege of being legally married for a very short space of time before it was ripped from us.
My initial motivation though mixed was largely political—we should stand up and be counted in this human right issue. But once the wheels started turning and it became possible, I was blown away by how emotional this became for me—for us.
We received a fair bit of publicity, so many recognised us in public. We found strangers from all walks in life embracing us in tears, leaving flowers on our doorstep, putting congratulation notes on our car. Canberra embraced this decision with an outbreak of joy. It was very special.
Thank you ACT Government. Our marriage is no longer legally valid but you gave me the opportunity to say to my children, grandchildren family and community, but most of all to myself and to my partner that this love, this relationship is central to my life and worthy of respect in every way. I will always treasure that.
This is what Krishna and Veronica had to say:
We are one of the 31 couples who married last December under the Same Sex Marriage Act and heard that you were keen to hear from some of us.
We’d like to say that 12 months on from the passing of the Same Sex Marriage Bill in the Assembly, we are still grateful to the ACT Government for taking the courageous step to enable our marriage—albeit short lived.
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