Same-sex marriage: Vote was about the kind of country we want to be

The Same Sex Marriage Vote was watched by a vey emotional Senator Penny Wong and politicians from all parties in Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

Will you marry me? How many smitten Australians have whispered that question to a loved one over the years, knowing that it could not honestly be answered?

Of course I’ll marry you. I’d marry you tomorrow, if only we were allowed.

But we’re not allowed. We are lesser in rights and dignity than our fellow Australians.

Well, permission granted!

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Straight Australia is now damn straight Australia.

We want you — all of you — to be happy, ever after.

Of course same-sex couples can get married.

Why not?

Get down on your dodgy old knee with a proposal this morning if you’re so inclined (yes, we know how long some of you have waited.) Go ahead and ask the question that’s been burning on your lips, and here’s hoping you get a triumphant yes, like the nation just delivered.

We say “we do” to your “I do.”

The results of the postal survey are in, and it’s emphatic: more than 12 million people voted, and seven million said yes. It’s a thumbs up, for good will and human rights and equal treatment.

It’s a hand across the divide: yes, come on, join us in his grand tradition. The wedding. The marriage. The promise. The cake and the flower and the vows.

We respect your relationships.

We want to celebrate them with you.

Like it or not, this was always about more than marriage. It was about the kind country we want to be.

Inclusive, warm, loving, willing to give others a go.

Bill Shorten celebrates in the crowd after the postal survey result announcement at the State Library of Victoria this morning.

Marriage is hugely important to Australians. Most of us will do it. It’s not easy, trying to get through life alone. Life is difficult.

Marriage give you the opportunity to do for others; and to let them do for you.

Marriages, at its ideal, means that somebody will be there for you when you get sick, and when you are well. When you triumph, and at your demise.

Gay Australians will celebrate today. They’ve walked a long road to love. They have proved resilient in the face of discrimination, and public shaming. They had a ratbag element, who abused those on the No side, but for the most part, it was a simple question they asked: can I marry the person I love?

At the bulk of the community – their friends, family, neighbours, co-workers - heard the question and replied: yes, okay, why not?

Go for it.

They didn’t want to be left out anymore, same as you or I wouldn’t want to be left out.

They are jubilant today, but we — the citizenry — should give ourselves a bit of a pat on the back, too.

The decision underscores something precious:

When you are born into the human family, you are born with certain rights, including the right not to face discrimination under the law.

No government can ever take those rights from you — and if they do try to take them, it’s incumbent on all of us to snatch them back, like we did for indigenous Australians; like Americans did for African Americans; like they did in South Africa.

Dithering politicians could not seem to find a way to solve this problem, and some were content to allow people to languish on the sidelines of society, slightly less in rights and dignity than their fellow Australians, because they didn’t want to lose their seats.

But big-hearted Aussies, fed up with their nonsense, strode out, and got it done.