Bolt’s sister breaks silence

The sister of conservative News Limited columnist Andrew Bolt has come out in support of marriage equality, expressing her wish to marry her partner in Australia.

Writing for Crikey today, Stephanie Bolt said she was compelled to respond to her brother’s column on Monday which opposed same-sex marriage after her attempts to post a contribution to his blog went ignored.

“Marriage is touted as one of our most enduring traditions. Traditions are organic; their foundations are laid in the past but they grow and evolve over time,” she wrote.

“Granting me and my partner the right to marry — to have our loving and committed relationship recognised in law and by the community — doesn’t erode that tradition, it builds upon it.”

Bolt revealed she married her partner in Canada and held a commitment ceremony at her home in Adelaide.

She said she didn’t believe civil unions were a reasonable alternative to marriage in Australia.

“I’m [told] that civil unions are in a legal sense similar to marriage and, therefore, why should it not be embraced by same-sex couples? If it’s such a palatable alternative it’s then fair to ask why it’s not embraced by many more heterosexual couples?” she said.

“To point out the blindingly obvious, many of us regardless of sexuality want to get married; we want the ceremony that is such a significant marker in life’s journey. There may be little that legally separates the two, but socially and culturally there’s a chasm.

Read her full editorial here.