It’s for their Juju’s and it’s for their love.

To Andrew Leigh, Gay marriage; controversial? No. But I have to sit here and write you a letter because if not it will not happen here in Australia. It’s not just because the Australia of today has progressed to a point where this concept of two people that are in love regardless of gender should be given the option of marriage. Further that nearly two thirds of Australians under 25 agree with gay marriage. It’s also not just to give all Australians an equal opportunity to express their love in a way that they feel fit. While a gay couple can live with one another in love, they can’t get married. This is far from equal to their heterosexual counter parts. But you should know this already and while the Australian Christian Lobby will write to you talking about children and how they will be perverted, how the community will become lewd and how we, as Australians, don’t need it, it seems to me that they are wrong on all levels. Isn't that stance ignoring the Christian principle of love and inclusion? So I am going to tell you about my Grandma Juju and what it would mean for her and me. There is no-one I respect more than Juju. She is a strong woman, wise and someone who got to spend her life with the man she loved: my Grandad Ted. She has never hated anyone and loved all her Grandchildren equally. In doing this she wants us to find the one that we love, our Ted. She met him at a ball in the ‘50s. It was instant love. They went to England in the ‘60s when Menzies was re-elected and they stood with Gough. But, what they had was a devotion to love one another until death. They were true life partners. He passed away in 1990 and all I know of him is pictures, letters and stories that she tells. Juju never remarried; she told me that there was no-one that could love her like Ted did. This idea was passed down through my family. She talks to us about sharing the end of her life as we start ours. Our lives as grandchildren of Juju are to ensure that we can at least have a tenth of the love and devotion she had for Ted. Juju tells me over and over again about their wedding. They demonstrated their love with a wedding. Marriage to my family stipulates the biggest commitment for a couple to one another. It is a celebration of love that is shared with family and friends. It is that fundamental facet of marriage that I want to share with her. I want to have the stories that she has, I want to make her proud that everyone in her family will have the same opportunities as she had. In my family there are two gays already. My cousin and her partner are having a commitment ceremony in Bali at the end of year. They are doing this because they feel that Australia will not have gay marriage anytime soon. Their love can’t wait for the Australian parliament while they refuse to take action because a few people want to restrict the rights of all Australians. But this commitment is not equality. It is a compromise. While we will all attend, we will cry and we will laugh, we will also know that this is the best that they have. There is no reason that they, I and other gay couples across Australia should be able to marry. We deserve better. You can change this Andrew. You can lobby your caucus on behalf of Australians that want an equal opportunity to express their love. Because I can tell you that it’s not just for them; it’s for their Juju’s and it’s for their love. Regards, Ben Koval