Wed 16 Jan 2013 In: True Stories View at Wayback View at NDHA
The text of a submission to the Select Committee on the proposed Marriage Equality law being spearheaded by lesbian MP Louisa Wall. Bridget Murdoch writes: I grew up not realising anything was different about me, I never knew that I wasn't like the other kids and it wasn't until the end of high school when I discovered who I really was that I even noticed there wasn't equality in NZ. I'm from a loving family that supported me no matter what, so even though telling them that I was gay was absolutely terrifying there was never a moment that I thought my family wouldn't love me anymore. I was lucky. The fact that I have always had their support has made everything so much easier for me and even though I suffer from depression and anxiety it doesn't have anything to do with the fact I am gay. I can't imagine how I would have coped if my friends and family didn't accept me and no one in this world should have to go through that. I believe in marriage equality, because someone needs to tell the kids with families that don't accept them, that nothing is wrong with them, that they are loved and they are not alone. Everyone should be equal and it isn't equal if its sometimes. People fall in and out of love all the time. I have experienced heartbreak that hurt like nothing I had ever experienced before and no one can tell me that my love or my hurt was any less than those in what would be considered conventional relationships. I have gone from being at my lowest to finally being happy again with someone I want to be with for a very long time and one day I want to be able to get married. It's only a simple word but it means the world to me. To be able to walk down the aisle with the girl of my dreams, it all seems so easy to me. This is why I support marriage equality Bridget Murdoch - 16th January 2013