LOVE TAKES HOLD

SAME-SEX WEDDINGS

MAT Rowell and Antony Logan will wake up this morning in Hobart as legally recognised husbands, having married in New Zealand in 2015.

It will not change their relationship, but Mr Rowell, the head of Relationships Australia in Tasmania, says the law change will make life better for millions of Australians.

“What I missed as a young gay person growing up in Launceston was visible role models, he said.

“This will take a whole layer of pressure off those feelings of difference and worth that we struggle with as kids.

“It might still be tough to be gay in some families but, when you look at the history of what’s happened this week and the way the country has celebrated, that level of anxiety will be removed. I’ve seen [samesex] couples walking around Hobart holding hands and we’ve never had that before.”

Mr Rowell said he dissolved into tears after watching the passing of the same-sex marriage Bill live on television.

“Antony came home from work and said: ‘Hello husband, I’m home” and he wanted to know why I was so emotional,” Mr Rowell said. “As a 15 or 16-year-old, I never thought gay marriage would be available to me.

“Saturday morning we’ll wake up and we’ll be officially married in Australia. There are no barriers now, no impediments.”