Hunter marriage celebrant Brittany Turner burst into tears as she watched the results of the same-sex marriage survey on a Facebook live stream in her car.
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“I’m just ecstatic,” she told Fairfax Media. "Your phone call interrupted my hysterical crying."
The former East Maitland woman said she couldn’t wait to officiate her first same-sex union if the government decided to vote in line with the results of the survey.
While the result could mean a boost for her profession, Ms Turner was more excited on a personal level.
“The result is very much in line with my own views,” she said.
“As a professional [a new law] would certainly change things. It would impact on celebrants across the country.
“But it’s about equal rights.
“I’ve got a lot of close friends in long-term same sex relationships.
“There’s no reason I should be able to officiate the wedding of one of my friends and not the other.
“I say to them, I can’t wait for the day we’re standing up there at your wedding. It’s the same way I feel about my heterosexual friends.”
In what has been a heated debate, Ms Turner said she was glad the results of the survey were now finalised.
“A lot of my gay friends live in Sydney, and I just wish I could wrap my arms around them and give them a huge hug,” she said.
“I just hope that the LGBQTI community feels the love they deserve today.
“I can’t imagine what this experience has been like for them.”
Ms Turner was obviously pleased with the result, but had hoped that more people would have voted yes than 61.6 per cent.
“I thought it would be around 70 per cent, perhaps I was optimistic,” she said. “It is much better than 49 per cent.”
But she still believed the result should be more than enough for the government to support the bill.
“I hope 51 per cent would have been enough for them to sort it out,” she said.
“This is a victory to be celebrated, but the fight’s not over yet.
“We’ve now got to focus on the law being passed.”