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Celebration/ Celebrant/ Entrant (Alias): Commitment, Civil Partnership
City: Geelong State: Victoria
By Danny Lannen
Copyright for text and photos belongs to the Geelong Advertiser:
Click here for original article and more photos
Reprinted with permission.
October 6th, 2008
John Moore and Russell Baum hoped to do much more than pledge lifelong love and commitment during their civil partnership ceremony in Geelong yesterday.
The long-time partners exchanged vows, rings and embraces before family and friends and shared hope that their pledges might even save lives.
They want their public statement of faith for each other to be an example for their community and to help strengthen young people who might be feeling hunted or cornered by attitudes to their sexuality.
Mr Moore is a civil celebrant and said after the service his vocation had made awful truths too clear to him.
"I have buried young people who have taken their own lives because of homophobic attitudes in the community," he said.
"These attitudes persist in some of the smaller country areas in this region, in some of the local suburbs and of course even in parts of the major Australian cities.
"We appeal to the majority of modern, thinking Australian people to speak out and support us so that the homophobes feel outnumbered."
He said he and Mr Baum valued the support they had received from family members during their 25 years together.
"Let us say to families and to society in general that if they reject the sexuality and emotional issues of this generation then they face raising maladjusted, unhappy and unfulfilled kids at best and potential suicides at worst," Mr Moore said. "It's not about sex, for goodness sake, but about people."
Mr Baum's father Lui Baum, 83, of Bendigo, echoed the thinking and said happiness was paramount.
"We accepted it straight away," Mr Baum said. "You've just got to accept it or otherwise you lose them."
Yesterday's ceremony at Cafe Go, against a backdrop of Australian and gay community flags, rang with cheers and laughter and touched hearts.
The partners pledged to care for and honour each other. Mr Moore pledged to take out the garbage and Mr Baum pledged to remain always outrageous.
The formalities closed with a kiss and Mr Baum wiping a tear from Mr Moore's cheek.
"Today's ceremony has been another small step in a process that many nations around the world have already embraced," celebrant Jason Tuazon -McCheyne said.
"Same sex couples and families deserve to be treated equally as citizens and are entitled to the same legal and cultural protections that opposite sex couples take for granted."
Guest Kate Bush said the ceremony had been emotional.
"I've been to many, many ceremonies of different cultures and backgrounds but that is the most moving," Mrs Bush said.
"I was rubbing the tears away, it was just beautiful."
To read John and Russell's ceremony: Click here
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