A national survey conducted by researchers at The University of Queensland has found that the majority of same-sex attracted Australians reported marriage to be their personal preference for relationship recognition, throwing out the myth that most same-sex couples are happy being just a de-facto or do not wish to marry.

The Not So Private Lives survey showed that the majority (54.1%) of same-sex attracted participants chose marriage as their personal choice and close to 80% felt marriage should be an choice for same-sex couples in Australia.

Researcher Sharon Dane from UQ’s School of Psychology said what was most interesting was that marriage was still the personal choice of the majority. “Of those currently in a de facto relationship, 55.4% stated they preferred marriage for their own relationship, 25.6% stated they preferred a federally recognised relationship other than marriage, 17.7% preferred de facto and 1.3% preferred no legal recognition.”

Importantly, the majority showing a personal preference for marriage was even more substantial among those currently in a state or municipal civil partnership or an overseas civil union. “This suggests that alternatives to marriage, such as civil unions, can be important for those who do not wish to marry but are clearly not a substitute for the many who do,” said Dane.

It’s pretty simple, isn’t it? Just give us the choice to get married or not, and we’ll be happy.