Love has nothing to do with marriage, according to one submitter It’s been a tough day for marriage equality supporters who have sat through submissions describing gay couples getting married as an “abomination” and “irrational”, and a claim love has nothing to do with marriage. A full day of submissions has been heard at Parliament, ranging from the Rainbow Labour contingent and the group Christians for Marriage Equality, to a list of anti-gay religious leaders. Coast Community Church spokesman Paul Barris stated that love doesn’t play any role in any actual marriage, “and you don't actually have to love somebody to marry them”. The pastor of Masterton Baptist Church Scott Lelievre said allowing gay couples to marry would be an “abomination” and “lowers the prestige” of marriage which “must” only be between a man and woman. “As far as we are aware, marriage outside of this is a marriage of sin. The Government does not have the right to change this,” he claimed. Graham Sunderland of Riverstones Church in Upper Hutt stated he supports equal rights, but says relationships are different due to gender roles: “A car is not a truck, they both have motors and wheels but they both have very different roles.” David Lane from the Society For Promotion of Community Standards is describing a proposed same sex marriage law has also been among the detractors, stating his belief that the concept of same-sex marriage is an oxymoron. “It’s like talking about a bleeding stone. It’s just totally irrational.” The fears of incest and bestiality were again brought up by numerous anti-submitters.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 22nd November 2012 - 4:19pm