ONE year ago I flew to New Zealand and made a public declaration of my love and commitment to the man I had been in a relationship with for the five years prior.
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Our friends, families and colleagues attended the wedding.
Forty nine years ago my parents also got married in New Zealand.
They declared their love and commitment to each other in a similar public declaration.
My parents were at our wedding. They wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
My New Zealand marriage certificate is as legal and valid as that of my parents.
My marriage to Gregory is as strong and meaningful as theirs.
My husband’s two children still live with him so we’re not looking to start a new family together, but it may have been an option if his circumstances had been different and we were younger.
I see plenty of same-sex couples who are parenting and their children are very healthy and happy.
Marriage is a fine word to describe the nature of our relationship.
Society doesn’t need to invent a new word for one that works perfectly well.
To people like Terry Dulhunty (The Border Mail, January 27) who object to same-sex couples getting married, their efforts are as misguided as the tide has turned, we are getting legally married and the world is becoming a far better and more inclusive place for it.
— MICHAEL BARNETT,
Ashwood
