''It's such an ordinary story'', Jodie Vaile says. The public servant met her partner Jen Simpson, a medical scientist, at a friend's party 15 years ago.
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They've lived together almost ever since.
''We have two dogs, we have fairly standard Canberra jobs, we have a house in Amaroo,'' Dr Vaile said.
''Our gay and lesbian agenda includes stopping in at the shop and making sure we've got what we need to cook the dinner.''
The couple marked their 10-year anniversary by entering into a civil partnership. But like the many couples who will witness the ACT government's historic same-sex marriage debate on Tuesday, they are waiting to marry.
Dr Vaile, who will be in the public gallery on Tuesday, said it would ''a proud moment'' to watch her home jurisdiction move to pass laws giving her and her partner rights equal to those of heterosexual couples.
While there were ongoing concerns on Monday about the bill's vulnerability to defeat in the High Court, the women said it was their intention to marry as soon as possible after the laws were passed.
Ms Simpson said: ''It is about human rights … I would like to recognise that Jodie is legally my partner. We do all the same things as heterosexual couples. Our lives are not that different to anybody else's.''
Dr Vaile said on Monday that, on some levels, she could not understand ''why this is still an issue'', why marriage equality was not something she and Ms Simpson enjoyed already.
She said she thought the ACT was showing ''a lot of leadership'' and they hoped it would not be overturned by the Abbott government's challenge to the laws in the High Court.
''I know there are a lot of people who have required time to talk about these issues but I really do think it's simply a matter of human rights,'' Dr Vaile said. ''How can you value someone's love differently to someone else's?''
