#LoveWins: Marriage Equality Has Been Legalised In Australia

Marriage equality has been passed into law by the 45th Parliament of Australia.

It follows the result of last month’s postal survey on same sex marriage, in which 61.6 per cent of Australians returned an emphatic “Yes” vote in favour of its legalisation.

Last week, the Senate passed Liberal MP Dean Smiths’ SSM bill without any amendments.

Today, the House of Representatives followed suit, rejecting all proposed amendments (most attempting to reaffirm religious freedom) in the process. The bill passed to the cheers of the public gallery, with only a handful of members voting against it.

This now means the Marriage Act will be changed to allow two people, regardless of sex, to marry to the exclusion of all others.

"What a day for love, equality and respect," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull enthused before the vote.

"This is Australia: fair, diverse, loving and filled with respect."

All week, pollies had been making emotional cases for marriage equality. Liberal MP Tim Wilson even took the opportunity to propose to his partner.

Here's the moment Tim Wilson proposed to his partner in the House of Representatives pic.twitter.com/WUJOAgyDRA

— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) December 4, 2017

Later, leading campaigner Warren Entsch denounced Independent MP Bob Katter’s bizarre rant against SSM, delivered in the dying hours of the lengthy debate.

There will no doubt be celebrations across Australia this evening, though same-sex couples will have to wait just a little longer before walking down the aisle.

In Australia, at least one month’s notice of intent to marry must be given, so the first SSM weddings will take place in early January.

The campaign for marriage equality in Australia picked up some speed over the past two years, following its legalisation in the United States and Ireland.

What a ride it was. Teenagers made cartoons to advocate for marriage equality; Ben & Jerry’s banned same-flavour double scoops until it became law of the land; and though Bob Katter’s brain literally snapped at the prospect, Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, Kylie Minogue, Macklemore and even Captain Planet all got behind the cause.

But, of course, for those who spent decades fighting for the right to marry, the last 24 months must have no doubt felt like an exhausting slog rather than a sprint to the finish line, drawn out by the on-again, off-again, back-on-again ‘postal survey’ process, which was launched despite warnings from mental health professionals.

It took its toll. In a recent survey of more than 9,500 LGBTQI people and their allies, it was revealed instances of depression, anxiety and stress increased by more than a third after the announcement of the postal survey.

A new study had been released documenting the experiences of 9500 gay people and allies during the postal survey. It’s pretty much what you would expect: the survey was a disaster for gay people #auspol #marriageequality

— Joshua Badge 🏳️‍🌈 (@joshuabadge) December 6, 2017

And though the aftershocks of the postal survey and this decades-long debate will continue to be felt for some time, we can take solace in the fact that future generations, at least, will not have to climb this particular barrier of discrimination. There is now marriage equality in Australia.

Congrats, everyone.

Photo: iStock.com/YinYang