New Zealand Parliament Votes Overwhelmingly in Favor of Gay Marriage Bill
LatestLet’s all raise a glass of champagne (or cup of coffee) in a celebratory toast in honor of New Zealand for becoming the 13th country in the world to officially legalize gay marriage!
The same-sex marriage bill went through its third and final reading in New Zealand Parliament on Wednesday night where it was then voted on and passed with 77 to 44 votes. The hundreds of marriage equality advocates who had gathered around the Parliament building and in the building’s gallery immediately started to celebrate by cheering and singing the traditional Maori love song “Pokarekare Ana.”
New Zealand has allowed civil unions since 2005, but even those — meant to offer equal legal rights to same sex couples — had fairly extreme legal limitations. The new same-sex marriage bill will not only allow couples to officially call themselves married, but it will also allow them to jointly adopt children for the first time and have their marriages legally recognized when traveling abroad.