The NSW Young Nationals have voted to back marriage equality.

In yet another win in the fight for marriage equality, the NSW Young Nationals have defied the Coalition by voting to formally support same-sex marriage.

The vote was held at the NSW Young Nationals annual conference in Corowa, Victoria last weekend.

The Young Nationals explained their decision to support same sex marriage by outlining how the suicide rate among young gay men in rural areas was shockingly high. In fact, a young gay man living in the country is six times more likely to take his life compared to the rest of the population.

And while the National Party as a whole is known for supporting more conservative policies, the Young Nationals also pointed out that the youth branch had supported the decriminalisation of gay sex in the ’70s.

While some high profile National MPs publicly support same sex marriage, the party is ultimately bound by Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s decision to deny Coalition members a free vote – a decision the Young Nationals were particularly concerned by.

Blaise Bratter, the Young Nationals member who raised the motion at the conference, wrote on Facebook:

Being part of a conservative party, I am proud to have spearheaded a movement that will hopefully spill into our government, and promote the change to remove this disgusting discrimination from our legislation. I hope that this will be part of a broader message to Parliament that we need to act now.

Thank you, Blaise – we hope so too.

Do you support the legalisation of same sex marriage?