by Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer

New Zealand's parliament voted 80-40 to support a new marriage equality law in a preliminary vote August 29. It was the first of three votes the bill must pass before it becomes law.

If the law ultimately passes, New Zealand will be the 12th country to adopt equal marriage rights for Gay and Lesbian couples.

New Zealand activists credited President Obama and New Zealand Prime Minister John Phillip Key for creating momentum for equality.

'If I'm really honest, I think the catalyst was around Obama's announcement, and then obviously our prime minister came out very early in support, as did the leader of my party, David Shearer,' said parliament member Louisa Wall, who is openly Lesbian. 'The timing was right.'

Key said the large majority for the new marriage law put the measure in a stronger position to pass.

'It was an overwhelming result and I think it puts the bill in a pretty strong place to potentially become law, given you've had two-thirds of Parliament voting for it,' he said.

'I think New Zealand's always been a country that's really stood up for equality of rights and an egalitarian society, being the first country to give women the vote. We've been making slow progress in a number of other areas.'

DEATH FOR GAY SEX
New Zealand's move toward equality is a relatively recent development. In the former British colony, sex between men was punishable by death until 1961 and was finally decriminalized only in 1986. Curiously, sex between women was never illegal.

In 1993, the Human Rights Act banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Parliament enacted a civil unions bill in 2005. The following year, the country's solicitor general ruled that the Human Rights Act's provisions on gender bias prohibited discrimination against Transgender people.

According to a Washington Post poll, more than 60% of New Zealanders are in favor of marriage equality and want to allow same-sex partners to adopt children, which is prohibited under New Zealand's current civil unions law.

Of course, not everyone is happy with the nation's trend towards equality.

'Equality doesn't mean sameness,' said Bob McCoskrie, national director of the conservative advocacy group Family First, who maintains that civil unions adequately protect Gay and Lesbian couples.

'Marriage has always been about the relationship of a man and a woman because of their natural potential to have children,' McCoskrie stated.

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