Mel and Tash were among those who married on 19 August (picture by Andrea) There were 117 same-sex weddings in New Zealand from 19 August until the end of September, and a third of those tying the knot were from overseas. The gender break-down was near even, with 61 of the couples female and 56 male. Forty-seven were couples who transferred their civil union to marriage. A third were to overseas residents, compared with 10 per cent of opposite-sex marriages. The figures have come from Statistics Minister Maurice Williamson, whose infamous “big gay rainbow” speech during the marriage equality legislation’s third reading has gained him a gay fan club around the globe. He adds that there were 33 civil unions registered over the same period, down from 53 in the same quarter a year ago. In total for the September quarter, there were 2,798 marriages registered in New Zealand.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 5th November 2013 - 3:08pm