From a very young age, we are taught not to discriminate against someone for what we perceive as being a difference in another person.
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More than 12,727,000 residents voted and 61.6 per cent of them want the laws changed to allow same-sex couples to marry legally.
The votes from the postal survey were revealed on Wednesday at 10am and Australia supports all of the initials – LGBTQI.
It was a time that a lot of residents were waiting for, and not necessarily those that were to be directly affected by the outcome.
People who just want others to be happy, who want equality for their friends and family or who just want to be on the right side of history also had a huge stake in the outcome.
This result is not binding.
Parliament doesn’t have to do anything with this information.
But they’d be kind of silly not to.
The result also doesn’t mean the lives of those who voted ‘no’ will change.
Does it mean more people in the community might be happier because they have equal rights? Probably.
Does it mean that those who voted ‘no’ will be forced to marry someone of the same sex? No. It really will not affect their lives that dramatically.
This should light a fire under our government to listen to its people and make the appropriate changes.
The Riverina, which we know to be a moderately conservative electorate, voted ‘yes’, albeit at a lower rate than the rest of the state and the nation.
The biggest disappointment from this result, no matter what side you take, is if nothing is done with the information that was garnered from it.
Millions of dollars, months of waiting, hours of wondering if the post would make it back in time – it would be a shame if that was for nothing.
Was the government trying to fake us out, thinking we would vote ‘no’ and they would not have to take any action? Surprise!
Either way, it’s the result they wanted – a definitive response from the country about where they stood on this issue.
So after the community has finished waving its rainbow flags and downed the last of the celebratory champagne, we wait anxiously to see exactly what happens from here.
And in the meantime, please be respectful to each other as individuals process the result.
