Love is love, and love is a beautiful thing
Celebrants across Australia and gearing up for the rush
Last month my wife and I celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary and this weekend I is my 60th Birthday and what a great birthday gift it is to know that same sex couples can now marry and share in the same happiness as well as rights that my wife and I have enjoyed for forty years.
So much has occurred in that short period of history. It wasn’t long ago that homosexuality was a crime in Australia.
It was in 2013 that the High Court of Australia found that the definition of “marriage” in the Australian Constitution includes same-sex unions, and in 2014, the Howard Government amended the Marriage Act 1961, to include a definition of marriage as being “between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others” and so excluded same sex couples but then here we are in December 2017, and the Parliament of Australia has followed the will of the people to amend the law to enable Marriage Equality.
Unlike de facto rights, a marriage offers equal protection under the law for the couple because with a marriage, you are immediately the next-of-kin, with protections under the law in regard property, assets, inheritance, insurances, medical care and so much more.
This is a great leap forward for Australia.
I realised a long time ago that regardless of race, colour, creed, cultural origin, or sexual orientation, that we are all just people and that discrimination is simply inconsistent to my Christian belief. When Jesus said, ‘love one another as I have loved you’ (John 13:34-35), he did not say ‘unless they are sexually diverse, or of a different race or colour or culture’.
I and many others, have already been asked to start preparing Ceremonies.
As a moderator in a discussion group of over 800 celebrants within the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants, the largest single, national association of Celebrants in Australia, we have been overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to become Celebrants, join the association or simply and wonderfully, wanting to get married.
Exciting times are ahead.
There will an adjustment to thinking for some. I had a conversation with a friend yesterday whose thoughts were that marriage equality is immoral, but in 5 years time we will be wondering what all the fuss was about and in forty years time, we will all be celebrating the Ruby anniversaries of those who marry in the next month.
Love is love, and love is a beautiful thing.
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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Lou Szymkow at 0457 00 1922 or email at lou@alifecelebrant.com.au.
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