Australian Lawmaker Proposes To Partner During Gay Marriage Debate

In case you missed it, Australia is in the middle of a gay marriage debate. 

And here's one way to put it on the world stage:

"In my first speech, I defined our bond by the ring that sits on both of our left hands, and they are the answer to a question we cannot ask. There's only one thing left to do: Ryan Patrick Bolger, will you marry me?"

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That was Tim Wilson, an Australian member of Parliament, proposing to his partner just about as publicly as possible. Lawmakers were on the floor of Parliament discussing a bill to legalize same-sex marriage when the openly gay politician popped the question. Bolger, Wilson's partner, said yes.

And gay marriage is expected to become a reality in Australia. Voters there recently expressed overwhelming support for it in a postal survey last month. And last week, the country's Senate passed the bill pretty handily by a vote of 43 to 12.

There have been efforts by conservative lawmakers in Australia to offer protections to those opposed to gay marriage for religious reasons — things like allowing florists to deny service to a same-sex couple. Those efforts have thus far failed.