Yesterday Labor Senator for WA Louise Pratt stood up in Federal Parliament and gave her speech in support of the Marriage Amendment Bill (No 2). If passed, the Bill will legalise same-sex marriage, generating equality for LGBTIQ Australians across the country.
Senator Pratt spoke passionately about her support for the equality, discussing the bill that directly impacts herself, who is in a comitted relationship with her transgender partner –
‘I have always worked for fairness and equal treatment for all Australians. That principle is at the core of my commitment to politics, and it has always been a touchstone for me. I would support the removal of discrimination from the Marriage Act whether or not the Act, as it currently stands, discriminated against me personally. But it would be disingenuous of me not to put on record that in this case, the Act does discriminate against me. I am one of those hundreds of thousands of Australian citizens who know that the laws of our nation hold our capacity for love and for commitment to be lesser – just because of the gender of our partner.’
Senator Pratt highlighted the exponential growth of Australians in support of marriage equality, with a jump from 38% to 65% since 2004. 75% of Australians have also conceded that same-sex marriage is inevitable, Pratt emphasised this unavoidable outcome –
‘The simple fact is thousands of lesbian and gay couples are married here and abroad. Their marriages have all the same characteristics as any other’
The Senator urged all members of parliament to vote in favour, highlighting that marriage equality was not just a progressive of left wing issue, ‘It is a human issue. It is about our recognition of the injustice of discrimination. It is about our recognition of the importance, to individuals, to our community, of people making a mutual commitment to a shared life. It is about the importance of marriage in our society. The importance of marriage not to the few – but to the broad breadth of Australia society’.
Watch the Senator’s speech below
