Divorce vow in gay marriage protest
A Canberra couple have vowed to get a divorce, ending their ‘‘sacred’’ 10-year union, if Australia allows same-sex couples to legally marry. Nick Jensen and wife Sarah believe widening the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples threatens the sacred nature of the union.
The Christian couple have been happily married for over a decade, have no intention of separating, and hope to have more children. For all intents and purposes, they have a healthy marriage. But in a novel protest against any successful move to legalise same sex-marriage in Australia, Jensen wrote in an article published in Canberra City News this week that they were prepared to divorce.
‘‘My wife and I, as a matter of conscience, refuse to recognise the government’s regulation of marriage if its definition includes the solemnisation of same-sex couples,’’ said Jensen.
He is director of the Lachlan Macquarie Institute, which partners with the Australian Christian Lobby to offer scholarships designed to develop a Christian worldview and foster leaders in government policy. Jensen told Fairfax Media that he and his wife entered into their marriage ‘‘as a fundamental order of creation, part of God’s intimate story for human history, man and woman, for the sake of children, faithful and for life’’.
‘‘And so, if later on in the year the state does go ahead and changes the definition of marriage and changes the terms of that contract, then we can no longer partake in that new definition, unfortunately,’’ he said.
Legalising same-sex marriage would undermine ‘‘our most sacred institution, and have serious consequences for children who would grow up without a mother or father’’, Jensen said.