New Zealand Lawmakers Approve Gay Marriage Bill

In follow up to a prior post, the New Zealand Legislature has approved gay marriage making that nation the 13th nation to afford gays and lesbians full equality under the civil laws.  Here in the falsely claimed "land of liberty" most of us continue to wait not only for marriage rights but even for basic employment non-discrimination protections.  The image that the USA likes to project of itself is sadly largely a farce and a lie.  The New York Times looks at events in New Zealand.  Here are excerpts:

Hundreds of jubilant gay-rights advocates celebrated at New Zealand's Parliament Wednesday night as the country become the 13th in the world and the first in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize same-sex marriage. 

Lawmakers voted 77 to 44 in favor of the gay-marriage bill on its third and final reading.

People watching from the public gallery and some lawmakers immediately broke into song after the result was announced, singing the New Zealand love song "Pokarekare Ana" in the indigenous Maori language. 

"For us, we can now feel equal to everyone else," said Tania Penafiel Bermudez, a bank teller who said she already considers herself married to partner Sonja Fry but now can get a certificate to prove it. "This means we can feel safe and fair and right in calling each other wife and wife." 

In one of several speeches that ended in a standing ovation, bill sponsor Louisa Wall told lawmakers the change was "our road toward healing." 

"In our society, the meaning of marriage is universal — it's a declaration of love and commitment to a special person," she said. She added that "nothing could make me more proud to be a New Zealander than passing this bill." 

The new law will allow gay couples to jointly adopt children for the first time and will also allow their marriages to be recognized in other countries. The law will take effect in late August. 

"This is really, really huge," said Jills Angus Burney, a lawyer who drove about 90 minutes to Parliament to watch the vote with her partner, Deborah Hambly, who had flown in from farther afield. "It's really important to me. It's just unbelievable."

The change in New Zealand could put pressure on some of its neighbors to consider changing their laws. In Australia, there has been little political momentum for a change at a federal level and Prime Minister Julia Gillard has expressed her opposition to same-sex marriage. Some Australian states, however, are considering gay-marriage legislation. 

As is always the case, opposition to marriage equality came from the Christofascists who are increasingly incensed that their right to impose their hate and fear based religious beliefs are being eroded - as they should be - and could well be on the road to the trash heap of history.