Gay MP proposes in parliament

A GAY Australian legislator popped the question to his partner in parliament yesterday, with the very first proposal in the chamber coming shortly after a bill paving the way for same-sex marriage was introduced.

Tim Wilson, who has reportedly been engaged to Ryan Bolger for nine years, fought back tears as he thanked his fiance for enduring a marriage debate that “has been the soundtrack to our relationship”.

“In my first speech I defined our bond by the ring that sits on both of our left hands – that they are the answer to the questions we cannot ask,” the lawmaker, 37, from the ruling conservative party said.

“So there is only one thing left to do – Ryan Patrick Bolger, will you marry me?”

Bolger, who was sitting in the public gallery, quickly responded “yes” as the floor erupted in applause.

“That was a ‘yes’, a resounding ‘yes’,” house speaker Rob Mitchell noted for the record. “Congratulations, well done mate.” The Australian House of Representatives’ official Twitter account confirmed later that Wilson’s proposal was likely to have been the first ever in that chamber of parliament.

Wilson earlier emotionally recalled the uneasiness he had experienced with some friends when he and Bolger were first engaged.

“Many simply didn’t know how to react. Many SMSes went unresponded. In conversations, some people politely changed the topic or fell silent entirely,” he said.

The same-sex marriage bill being debated is expected to pass comfortably through the House of Representatives before Christmas after the Senate upper house last week overwhelmingly voted in its favour.

After more than a decade of debate, Australians emphatically endorsed gay marriage in a recent nationwide postal vote.