Scout Nichols Tomlins, 12, shares her story:
Before I was born, my mums Jac and Sarah travelled to Canada to get married after being together for 11 years.
If two people love each other, why do they have to go to the other side of the world to get married?
It doesn’t make any sense.
My mum Jac told me that after their wedding, a friend asked her how long she thought it would be until she could get married in Australia.
“Between five to 10 years” she’d said.
That was 14 years ago, and we’re still debating it even though most people think it should happen.
My older brother, Corin, 14, and younger sister, Cully, 10, and I have been out on the streets campaigning for marriage equality with thousands of other Australians ever since we were little.
We’ve always believed it’s the right thing to do.
Why are a handful of politicians trying to stop my mums’ happiness?
it’s so cruel and makes me sad when I think about it.
Me (second from the right) and my family.
I’m having an amazing childhood and have never felt my family was ‘weird’ or ‘different’.
We love to go bushwalking, swimming or go to the movies.
There’s really nothing strange about growing up with gay parents.
Sometimes we have to explain to our friends how our mums used IVF to have us.
They think it’s cool that we have two mums.
If Australia votes ‘no’, I’ll be so disappointed.
The world won’t stop turning if my mums get married.
It’s nobody’s business but theirs.
Some people are gay and some are straight, just like some people have blonde hair and some have brown.
Can’t we just all grow up a little and move on?
Ethan Chiang-Cruise, 10, shares his story:
I was in the shopping centre one day when a woman came up to me and asked where my mother was.
“I’ve got two dads”, I told her.
She looked at me as if I’d told her something sad.
“It must be so hard for you”, she said.
Hard? I didn’t understand what she meant.
My dads Rodney and Jeff have been the best parents I could have ever wished for.
I’ve been surrounded by love since the day I was born through surrogacy with my Aunty Kelly.
What is hard, though, is that the law treats them differently from my friends’ mums and dads.
I’m only young but I just don’t understand why they can’t have a nice wedding where I could be a pageboy or even the best man!
It makes me mad that they would be able to get married in every other English-speaking country, like New Zealand or USA, but not here.
I don’t think it’s fair as they are both really nice people who do everything for me, like take me to swimming lessons, music lessons and help with my homework.
We also have our dog, Oscar, who we rescued from the pound. I think he’d enjoy their big day, too!
Me, with my dads Rodney (middle) and Jeff, and Oscar.
Picture credit: VERVE
My dads have talked to me about the vote that’s coming up.
I’m really glad it might mean they can be married after all this time, though I don’t understand why everybody else gets to decide on what happens in my family.
But I hope that lots of people vote ‘yes’.
I’d vote ‘yes’ a zillion times if I could.
I’ve heard some people say bad things about families like mine on TV.
They say that there is something wrong with my family, but there isn’t.
I want to say to them: “come to our house and see for yourself. I’m really, really lucky to have two dads who love me”.
So please, try not to forget to vote because I can’t wait to see us all dressed very smartly for the ceremony.
Jacob Denham, 15, shares his story:
Me, Mum (middle) and Felicity
For a long time now I’ve listened to my mum, Sophie, and her partner, Felicity, talk about getting married.
Mum wants me and my older brother, Bailey, to give her away, which would be awesome!
I feel so angry that we’ve been talking about their big day for years but we can’t just get on with it.
They can’t go overseas to get married like other gay couples do because my nanna is too old to get on a plane.
She wants to be there when she finally sees her daughter walk down the aisle.
Mum and Felicity have been together for eight years now and all I’ve seen is love.
Before Felicity came into my life, Mum was with a man, my father. So I know for a fact that growing up with a mum and a dad is just the same as living with Mum and Felicity.
My mates have come over to our place to play ever since I was seven.
When they look at Mum and Felicity, all they see are two people in love.
They’ve never been scared to return, and their parents are happy for them to come over.
So when I read some of the nasty comments on Facebook by people who don’t believe in equal marriage rights, it hurts me.
They say it’s not natural, that it’s not fair on the children and it’s not what God would want.
None of that is true.
I wish they could see that love between two adults is the most natural thing in the world.
The only way to stop the hate and prejudice is by giving everyone the same rights and letting people get married regardless of their gender.
Please make my mum and Felicity’s dream come true.
It’s my dream, too, and it would mean the world to so many people.
