Moments after the same-sex marriage bill was introduced in Australia’s Parliament on 4 December, lawmaker Tim Wilson asked his partner to marry him, in what is touted to be the first ever proposal in the chamber.
The House of Representatives resumed for its final two-week session of the year, which has prioritised the same-sex marriage reform.
Wilson, a lawmaker in the conservative coalition, was among the first lawmakers to join the debate and used his speech to propose to his partner Ryan Bolger, who was watching from the public gallery.
“In my first speech I defined our bond by the ring that sits on both of our left hands,” Wilson said. “There’s only one thing left to do: Ryan Patrick Bolger, will you marry me?” The 33-year-old primary school teacher responded: “yes”. This was recorded in the official parliamentary record.
The major parties want the legislation passed this week after a majority of Australian's endorsed reform in a postal ballot last month.
The Senate last week approved the bill and rejected all proposed amendments that would have increased legal protections for those who would discriminate against gay couples on religious grounds.
But several lawmakers, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, intend to persist with amendments rejected by the Senate.
Turnbull, a gay marriage supporter, says he wants wedding celebrants, not just those affiliated with churches, to have the right to refuse to officiate at same-sex marriages.
If the House of Representatives supported such an amendment, then the altered bill would have to return to the Senate for ratification, delaying the reform.
A nonbinding postal survey found that 62 percent of Australian respondents wanted reform. Almost 80 percent of Australia's registered voters took part in the two-month survey. Most gay marriage opponents accept that the Parliament has an overwhelming mandate to make the reform.
(With PTI inputs)
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