Congratulations to Andrew Barr!
While New Zealand may have the gayest parliament in the World, Australia has a prominent gay parliament member. As the Pedestrian reports, Australia recently saw the reelection of Andrew Barr as the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory. The Labor Party member rejoins the current ruling government within the ACT. The Greens will then be the minority government within the ACT. This election result makes this the sixth consecutive Labor government in the ACT.
But what really got the internet’s, and specifically the gay side of the internet, attention was that Andrew Barr celebrated his win by kissing his husband on live television. While listening to Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory,” Andrew Barr and husband Anthony Toms walked onto the stage at their congratulatory event.
“We’ve had an extraordinary series of challenges thrown at us, as a city and as a community, and we’ve got through it because we’ve worked together,” Barr told the crowd. “We’ve got through it because we’ve applied progressive values to our government decisions and because we’ve applied compassion and we haven’t left people behind.”
Barr then transitioned into talking about his relationship with Toms.
“We met in this city, been together nearly 21 years, about to have our first wedding anniversary,” Barr recalled. “Anthony, I love you.”
Congrats on a good win @ABarrMLA @Canberra_Labor! Here’s the magic ‘I love you, Anthony’ moment from the Chief’s #ACTvotes victory speech – one for the history books. #auspol pic.twitter.com/olL3ZI8Xlo
— Chris Wallace😷 (@c_s_wallace) October 17, 2020
I’m not crying; you’re crying. #actvotes #actelection pic.twitter.com/4YqRwqmyNo
— Yes2Voice (Troy) (@TroyPSimpson) October 17, 2020
Barr then kissed his husband triumphantly. While the moment wasn’t the first gay kiss projected across Australian television screens, the moment in its normalcy was still appreciated across the country.
“I really, really like how he feels so comfortable in his skin that he can hug and kiss his partner on national TV,” wrote one Twitter user.
Beautiful moment between Chief Minister Andrew Barr and his husband Anthony Toms at last night's Labor victory celebration.
There's still a long way to go, but wow how far we have come. 💜💙💚💛🧡❤️ #auspol #actvotes #loveislove pic.twitter.com/5CLPsXtU5D
— Stephen (@TheAviator1992) October 17, 2020
For my international followers. Andrew Barr is our first (and only) gay leader of a state or territory. He was elected for a new 4-year term yesterday. I really, really like how he feels so comfortable in his skin that he can hug and kiss his partner on national TV. https://t.co/8BdQ42cMdQ
— 🪃 Boomerangℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤 (also aus.social) 🌈 (@BoomerangChris) October 18, 2020
Again, congratulations to Andrew Barr.
Source: The Pedestrian,
