#21 Jill and Caitlin

My wife, Caitlin and I, got ‘married’ four years ago at our property in Guildford in Victoria. We invited all our family and friends. We invited about 100 people (we were keeping it small) and over 70 people made it to the day and some, unfortunately, didn’t quite make it, because of the floods in Central Victoria that day or the cancellation of a flight from Brisbane. We felt so lucky to have Cait’s grandparents there to see us make that commitment to each other, to share in the joy of that day, they both died a little over a year later. It was the State Election Day in Victoria, and we were having our own little protest about marriage equality.

Fast forward to four years later and in Australia we still don’t have marriage equality, that momentous day means nothing in the eyes of the law. Earlier this year, though, the UK passed marriage equality laws and so, we are using my status as a British Citizen to legalise our union, at least in my birth country and we are doing it on the same day, 27 November. When we leave the British Consulate in Melbourne, when we step out onto Australian soil, our union will once again be void in the eyes of this country’s laws, but we will be ready for when they change their mind and start to treat us as equal participants in life and love.