Australians were asked whether they support marriage equality and the answer is
GOLD Coast couple Jeremy Edwards and Matt Stephan are among tens of thousands of Australians celebrating yesterday’s historic vote to endorse same-sex marriage. Providing parliament passes the law, wedding venue owners and politicians say it will position the Glitter Strip as “Australia’s answer to Las Vegas”. However, Gold Coast tourism leaders are at odds at how best to cash in on the “massive” gay and lesbian sector.
MATT Stephan was watching the announcement of the marriage equality vote over breakfast with his partner Jeremy Edwards yesterday when his phone went off.
It was a text message from his grandma and it read “congratulations”.
“I just welled up,” Mr Stephan said.
“When I started to hear the results, it was so overwhelming and I said to Jeremy, ‘oh my god, I think we’ve got it’.
“Everything after that is a little foggy because we were just so happy.”
Mr Stephan said the Southport couple felt pride and joy but also a great sense of relief.
“It was just a relief to hear that we were being recognised, and that we do deserve the same equality as everyone else,” he said.
“It’s not just about being able to get married, it’s about equality in general. We’ve only been together six months but it (marriage) is definitely something we have spoken about.
“It’s great to know that we can get married on home soil now and it will be recognised.
“Given the overwhelming majority of people who voted in favour of same-sex marriage, the Government cannot deny those results, so I am confident legislation will get passed soon.”