Colin Craig says being gay "isn't normal" The leader of the Conservative Party claims it is "not intelligent to pretend that homosexual relationships are normal". Colin Craig tweeted the comment as he quickly moved to get political mileage out of the marriage equality debate, positioning his party as the only one “with a clear policy of supporting the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman”. The millionaire’s party received 2.65 per cent of the party vote at the last election, and spent more for each vote than any other party, with most of the funding coming from its leader himself. “It is important that marriage remains between a man and a woman” Craig says in a full statement. "Make no mistake, this issue will be an election issue, and the Conservative Party looks like it's the only party with a clear policy of supporting the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman," “This is not an issue of rights; it’s an issue of respect. Respect for the many stakeholders in what marriage means. A tiny minority want to change the rules of the game to suit themselves, and that isn’t right,” he continues. “It’s time for all New Zealanders who recognise the importance of marriage being between a man and a woman to stand up and be heard, because our Parliamentarians lack the backbone to do it,” he says. “Let’s not underestimate the essential role of the marriage institution for children and for our society as a whole. Changing the definition of marriage is no small thing, and will have far reaching impact, beginning with how this impacts on the rights of a child up for adoption," he says. “The issue of gay marriage has been put to a vote in 32 states in America, and every time the people have chosen that it remain between a man and a woman. In Australia the same issue is being debated, and I am certain it will be decided in favour of marriage staying between a man and a woman. New Zealanders are not essentially liberals, and if there was a referendum on this issue I am confident we would see the people vote to stop this bill becoming law." "We are tired of all this social engineering. Let’s hope the New Zealand people get their way on this issue. We’ve had far too many law changes that don’t have popular support” he finishes.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 27th July 2012 - 11:01am