KRIS Stevens believes marriage equality in Australia could go a long way towards making gay youth comfortable in their own skin.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 55-year-old Dubbo woman argues that it would send a strong message that they are "valued" members of society.
She notes the work of organisations such as beyondblue and Dubbo's Rainbow Alliance in helping young gay people who are "suffering because they feel like they are different or shouldn't be like this".
Ms Stevens contends that marriage equality would help stamp out stigma and support gay youth in understanding "there is nothing wrong with the way they are, they have every right to be that way and to stand up and be proud".
The softly-spoken woman with a ready smile spoke of her "passion" for marriage equality in Australia a week after beyondblue relaunched a national campaign in response to a study that showed an "alarming" rate of homophobia among teenage boys in Australia.
The campaign highlights the "absurdity of discriminating against people just for being themselves" through use of an advertisement in which a teenager is called a "freak" by a group of boys because he is left-handed.
Beyondblue is seeking to directly reduce the distress of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people by fighting discrimination.
"We know that high levels of distress have a strong link to depression, anxiety and suicide," its chief executive officer Georgie Harman said.
Ms Stevens, whose 12-year same-sex relationship became a "legally recognised" civil union in New Zealand in 2009, is thinking more of her daughter than herself as the drumbeat of marriage equality grows louder.
"I have a daughter who is gay and she's in a relationship with a long-term partner," she said.
"For them I think it's really important because they have a lot of their lives ahead of them. Having marriage equality pass through the parliament would make a huge difference to their lives."
Ms Stevens, a government sector worker, and her partner Bizzi Mason, 57, a community care worker with a non-government organisation, first met when students of the forerunner to Dubbo College South Campus.
They would "absolutely" avail themselves of the opportunities offered by marriage reform in Australia but are not racing back to New Zealand where same-sex marriages got the green light in 2014.
"As far as we are concerned we are married. We have a great life and we're really enjoying our time here in Dubbo."
