I receive hundreds of emails every week. But this weekend, one in particular caught my attention. It was from a Catholic priest who wrote in support of marriage equality. Many “Catholics are in support of equality for same-sex couples to marry the person they love . . . because they realise the point is not about gender but about love, commitment and equality,” he wrote.
This email stood out because it shows just how far the marriage equality debate has come. This is no longer simply a gay rights issue, it’s a human rights issue and it’s mobilising a broad section of the community. From church leaders to ordinary mums and dads who just want their gay son or daughter to have the same rights as everybody else; many Australians are joining the fight for equality.
Since I first introduced my Marriage Equality Bill to provide for same-sex marriage back in 2009, this issue has well and truly moved from the streets to the Parliament. More than 25,000 people made submissions to the inquiry into my Bill – a record for the Senate. In another milestone, late last year, my colleague Adam Bandt won support for a motion calling on members of parliament to gauge their constituents’ views on this. Since then politicians from across the political divide have used this opportunity to test the waters on marriage reform in their electorates.
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