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MAFS' Aleks and Ivan exchange wedding vows
Watch 4:43

MAFS' Aleks and Ivan exchange wedding vows

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The Best Celebrity Reactions To Marriage Equality In Australia

The Best Celebrity Reactions To Marriage Equality In Australia

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Finally! Australia Has Legalised Same-Sex Marriage

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Same-Sex Marriage: Debate In Parliament Begins Over Bill

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Same-Sex Marriage: What Happens Next Now Australia Has Voted Yes?

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A Just Married Same-Sex Couple Tells What The 'Yes' Vote Means To Them

A Just Married Same-Sex Couple Tells What The 'Yes' Vote Means To Them

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Celebrity Reactions To The Australian Same-Sex Marriage 'Yes' Vote

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Australia Finally Said Yes To Marriage Equality

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The Results Are In: Australia Says 'YES' To Same-Sex Marriage!

The Results Are In: Australia Says 'YES' To Same-Sex Marriage!

Couples Offered Free Wedding Venues In Sydney If Same-Sex Marriage Is Legalised

Couples Offered Free Wedding Venues In Sydney If Same-Sex Marriage Is Legalised

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Promising News For 'Yes' Campaign In Same-Sex Marriage Vote

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The Australian Fashion Industry Sends A Message: #WeSayYES

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I’m Getting Married Next Month - And I Have Just One Question For The ‘No’ Campaigners

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This Is Why You Haven't Received Your Same-Sex Marriage Postal Survey

Marriage equality: how to change a ‘no’ voter’s mind

Marriage equality: how to change a ‘no’ voter’s mind

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Same-Sex Marriage: "My Area Voted No To Equality"

Love wins - but not everywhere - by Naomi Chrisoulakis
  • 15 Nov 2017
Same-Sex Marriage: "My Area Voted No To Equality"

Fifteen minutes of joy - then a pang of disappointment. That’s how I felt today after the announcement came that the majority of Australians had ticked the yes box on the same-sex marriage postal survey… but that 56% of my electorate had voted no.

 

I moved to Sydney’s Earlwood, in the Barton electorate, when I was pregnant. I fell in love with the multicultural mix, the bustling shops and, let’s face it, the property prices that were lower than the inner west suburbs on the other side of the Cooks River.

I was, I told myself and anyone who’d listen, still living in the Inner West - a by-word for lefty/eco-friendly/gay-friendly/good coffee. The people are friendly! My neighbours are gay! I imagined my daughter growing up on Earlwood’s quiet streets, walking to the little public school up the road, having playdates with kids from all kinds of backgrounds.

marriage equality

Now, it breaks my heart a little bit to know that the majority of kids she’ll be going to school within a few years time will have been raised by parents who don’t want to see equality for LGBTI people, minded by grandparents likely instilling their intolerance in their darlings. 

Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe I should embrace the fact that I don’t live in a bubble, where everyone is PLU (People Like Us) and my 16 month old will never encounter an un-PC comment. And maybe wherever you go there’s intolerance (okay, not maybe - definitely). I’d just prefer that it wasn’t in the majority, like it is here.

Fortunately, that's not the norm for the rest of the country. I'm overjoyed that nationwide, the majority of us embrace equality. That’s a win for love… and the next generation.

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