The Couple Who Pledged To Divorce If Marriage Equality Was Legalised Have Chickened Out
We asked them what they think of the big news.
A straight couple who pledged to get divorced if marriage equality was ever legalised in Australia have chickened out.
Nick and Sarah Jensen made headlines in 2015 — the last time marriage equality legislation was before parliament — when they told their local paper that the government would be breaking its pledge with married couples by allowing same-sex couples to also marry.
Marriage is “part of God’s intimate story for human history”, Nick Jensen said.
“Marriage is the union of a man and a woman before a community in the sight of God. And the marriage of any couple is important to God regardless of whether that couple recognises God’s involvement or authority in it.”
“My wife and I, as a matter of conscience, refuse to recognise the government’s regulation of marriage if its definition includes the solemnisation of same-sex couples,” he wrote.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Jensen was adamant that he would follow through on his promise.
“We’ve made the decision. We’re hoping to never have to do that, [but] that is what we’d do,” he said.
Jensen also said that the “tide was turning” against marriage equality, and that he doubted he would ever have to actually follow through on the promise.
“It’s far from inevitable. If a number of things hold then we won’t be in this situation [with marriage equality legislation before parliament] again for a number of years. So hopefully not.”
Well guess what, suckers? Marriage equality passed the Australian parliament yesterday!
Junkee contacted Nick Jensen yesterday to see if he would follow through on his public promise, and it turns out Nick isn’t quite a man of his word.
“My previous public comments regarding civil divorce never envisaged me separating from my wife, but rather our marriage from the state,” he said in a text message.
“The legislation currently makes it untenable for us to do this under the law. The point we were highlighting and that still stands however is the fact that a redefinition of marriage changes the agreement under which we were originally married.
“We will be making no further comment.”