Porirua City Council has adopted a notice of motion in favour of same-sex marriage. The motion: “That Porirua City Council recognises that marriage is a legal institution of the state under New Zealand law and is a right that should be available to all New Zealanders regardless of sexual orientation,” was passed by the Council's Te Komit. The mover of the motion, Councillor Ana Coffey said that Porirua has a history over the decades of taking progressive stances on important matters relating to the social fabric of New Zealand and that this was one further example. "The issue is well canvassed. Most New Zealanders believe that discriminating against a sector of society is unpalatable. Legislating for same sex marriage will definitely not save the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community from all discrimination, but it's a small step in the right direction. It's legitimate for a council to advocate on behalf of its community and take a position while the issue is debated by the Parliament. " Coffey said that she expected there to be 'some debate' on the issue, and was pleased she had the numbers to carry the Notice of Motion, which was seconded by Councillor Anita Baker. "At the end of the day this will probably be the first council registering its view in favour or against an important piece of social legislation for our country. Porirua passed a motion against the Springbok Tour in 1981, against Military Action against Iraq in 2002, and in favour of the anti-smacking legislation more recently." Coffey said that she had heard strong support in the Porirua community for the legislation and that with Mana MP, Kris Faafoi and local list MPs Hekia Parata and Jan Logie voting in favour, the council should add its support as well. "This isn't core council business clearly. But we are there to take a stand at appropriate times. There is no cost to the ratepayer for the council to do this and the length of debate will be minimal. I'd be proud for Porirua to be the first council in New Zealand to say it was supportive of same sex marriage."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 3rd September 2012 - 11:06am