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Imagine an engagement that lasted 42 years but couldn’t ever end in marriage. Former High Court Judge,  Michael Kirby, released a biography this week called Michael Kirby: Paradoxes and Principles. The openly gay legend was talking to ABC’s Fran Kelly this week and described his engagement to partner Johann as ‘lasting 42 years’.

“Well, my view is that I’d love to live to see the day where a leader of the country did what Zapatero in Spain, and spoke up very clearly about the fact that this is a matter of the rights of citizens to equality. As it happens, and I think this may be in the book, Johann and I probably wouldn’t get married. After all, our engagement has gone on for 42 years, so it’s getting a bit late in the day. But it ought to be there for those who want it.”

Now there’s an interesting point. What makes his relationship any different to a ‘normal’ heterosexual romance? It’s far out-stripped the average length of a marriage which  in this country is 8.7-years.

We bang on a bit about gay marriage because we believe in it so strongly and so so does Evan Cooper who began The Commitment Project.  He writes

Check out some of the images from Evan’s Commitment Project:

Bernard and Edward. Date of commitment: November 1977

Andy and Augie. Date of commitment: February 1994

Ben and Nick. Date of commitment: August 1996

Carmen and Ally. Date of commitment: November 1998

Cindy and Gab. Date of commitment: July 1995

Danny and Marco. Date of commitment: April 2001

Drew and Chris with Walter and Shirley. Date of commitment: October 1991

Geoff and Jason. Date of commitment: December 1992

Ian and Geoff. Date of commitment: November 1996

Emma and Sarah. Date of commitment: March 2001

Jaie, Sam and Alex. Date of commitment: February 2001

Jan and Chris. Date of commitment: April 1991

Jason and Scott. Date of commitment: April 1999

Jo, Penny, Jemima, Red and Pippi. Date of commitment: May 1993

John and John. Date of commitment: 1960

Jon and Stephan. Date of commitment: March 2000