MPs from a cross-section of parties have shared their views on marriage equality, and a gentle and mostly positive debate on the issue on TVNZ7’s political show Back Benches. National MP Colin King initially appeared open-minded on the issue: “The world hasn’t fallen in with the civil unions – a lot of people thought that would be the end of the world,” he said. “I’m relaxed, perfectly relaxed about … it’s not personally for me but it’s a big issue for other people. So let’s have that debate. It’s probably a time for that debate.” When host Wallace Chapman then pointed out that the MP’s leader John Key voted against civil unions in 2004, because he believed that’s what his electorate wanted, King said he believes his Kaikoura electorate would say “it’s well-defined at the moment with the civil union and that a marriage should be preserved for a man and woman.” When asked what local shearers might think, he replied “they wouldn’t care two hoots”. King later agreed with a quote from Key that he believed there was ‘no clamour’ for marriage equality. New Zealand First’s Tracey Martin claimed that as she is a ‘representative’ her personal opinion doesn’t count. “However if my husband and I get certain rights because we’ve gone through a ceremony that has declared, well it wouldn’t mean we didn’t love each other if we didn’t get married, why shouldn’t a same-sex couple have the same rights?” she said. “So I would find it very hard to argue against it. Their love would be no less than the love that my husband and I have.” However, Martin said she would have to go to the people she represents before casting her vote. “I am being very straight with you,” she said, gathering laughs. “I don’t want to give people the wrong impression.” When asked for his position, gay Labour deputy Grant Robertson joked that it was “a tough one”, before pointing out he preferred to call it ‘marriage equality’, then used the increasingly popular explanation: “because I’m not doing gay drinking and I didn’t just do gay parking out there either.” Robertson said marriage equality is about giving people the same rights and regarding and valuing people the same way. He said the differences between marriage and civil unions are the name and terminology, and the fact civil unioned couples still can’t adopt. Green MP Holly Walker threw out ‘the church historically owns marriage debate’, saying there are historical examples of churches sanctioning same-sex marriages. “I have a civil union with my partner Dave and the reason we did that is because we didn’t want to be part of an institution that our gay friends and family were not also welcome in.” Walker said we absolutely need to have marriage equality in New Zealand, but evened we did when she tied the knot she and her partner would still have chosen a civil union, because the freedom to choose what they liked about marriage and leave what they didn’t want was empowering. “Both options need to be available to everybody,” she says. Joseph Habgood from Legalise Love was in the audience and was asked by co-host Damien Christie why we need gay marriage and he replied that for that basic right to be denied to all citizens was “basically abhorrent”.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 17th May 2012 - 11:46am