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15 glorious photos that capture the moment Australia chose marriage equality.

After a grueling two-month mail-in vote, the results of Australia's survey on marriage equality were finally announced at 10 a.m. (AEDT) on Nov. 15, 2017. If the Yes campaign won, Australia would take a giant step toward marriage equality. If No won, the status quo would remain.

The stakes couldn't have been any higher.

As nerves built, Aussies gathered in Melbourne to hear the vote tallies.



When the results were announced, giving  the Yes campaign its resounding victory, pure joy erupted in the streets.

The historic, powerful moment was caught on video by opposition leader and LGBTQ rights supporter Bill Shorten. For millions of LGBTQ Australians, lives will be forever changed after the vote.

Here are 15 powerful photos from this remarkable moment in history:

1. With an overwhelming margin of victory, Yes votes won the mail-in survey with 61.6% of the vote.

Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

2. There were lots of smiles — and tears.

Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

3. And even more (rainbow-colored) confetti.

Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

The results fell in line with public polling that has consistently showed a large majority of Australians supporting marriage equality. "This is our proudest moment as gay and lesbian Australians," Chris Lewis, a 60-year-old artist from Sydney, told The New York Times. "Finally I can be proud of my country."

Despite some nervous jitters among some Yes campaign officials in recent days, the end results were nowhere near close.

4. Yes votes won in all six of Australia's individual states and territories.

Even in the more conservative ones.

Photo by Cole Bennetts/Getty Images.

5. "It was not just about us," said Yes supporter Annika Lowry. "It’s for our kids, so that they know equality is important."

Photo by Cole Bennetts/Getty Images.

6. Having your humanity debated via survey doesn't feel all that great, as many Australians could tell you.

Photo by James Alcock/Getty Images.

7. But after exhausting years of debate, knowing that most of your country has your back has got to be a good feeling.

Photo by Cole Bennetts/Getty Images.

Yes supporters have much reason to celebrate, of course. But there's an important catch. The survey was just that — a survey. It won't result in any actual change to the law ... quite yet.

Parliament will use the vote, which was processed through the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as a gauge of public sentiment on the issue preceding a parliamentary vote before the end of the year.

Considering the wide margin of victory and high participation — a whopping 79.5% of eligible voters submitting a Yes or No vote! — Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said a vote on marriage equality should be decided by Christmas.

8. For many, that moment can't come soon enough.

Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

9. Australia is among the last westernized countries in the world to make marriage equality the law of the land.

Photo by William West/AFP/Getty Images.

10. For years, the issue has hit partisan roadblocks in parliament despite marriage equality's widespread popularity.

Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

11. Finally, though, the spark for true change has been lit.

Photo by Cole Bennetts/Getty Images.

And it definitely won't be extinguished now.

12. "This all happened because of you," the Yes campaign told supporters. "We did this together."

Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

13. "You shouldn't have had to put up with this survey but you embraced it," Shorten told the LGBTQ community.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

"I feel for young people who have had their relationships questioned in a way in which I wouldn't have thought we would have seen ever again," he said. However, "unconditional love always has the last word."

Ain't that the truth?

14. No one should forget that Australians sent a resounding, joyful message to the rest of the world on Nov. 15.

Photo by William West/AFP/Getty Images.

15. That love is love is love.

Photo by Cole Bennetts/Getty Images.

And it doesn't matter which hemisphere you're in either. 🌈

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via Roman Harak/Flickr

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Four hundred years ago, copies of William Tyndale’s English translation of the Bible were publicly burned by the bishop of London, with church authorities insisting that the Bible should only be read in Latin (and only by the clergy). In the centuries since, many books we now consider classics such as Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," Jack London's "Call of the Wild," Walt Whitman’s "Leaves of Grass," Victor Hugo’s "Les Misérables, Charles Darwin’s "Origin of Species"—even Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" and "Benjamin Bunny"—have been banned or censored in one way or another in various countries.

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The Tonight Show/ Youtube

Jennifer Aniston appearing on "The Tonight show"

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