Labour MP and sponsor of the Marriage Amendment Act, Louisa Wall, has married her partner Prue in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by family and friends. Louisa Wall and her wife Prue. The couple married at heir home in Manurewa on Friday 18 December; the fifth anniversary of their civil union. Describing it as a perfect day, Wall says “It was the fifth anniversary of our civil union and felt special to restate our commitment after all this time and recognising all that has happened in the last five years including the Marriage Amendment Act. “It does feel different, in a universally special way, calling each other my wife.” She says when the couple decided to formalise their relationship in 2010, they explored options to marry in other jurisdictions, “However, our overwhelming priority was celebrating this life event with friends and family and so we settled on a civil union as a public expression of our love and commitment as it was our only option.” She says; “Internationally, marriage is easily understood as it has universal meaning i.e. we we are married and this is my wife as opposed to she's my partner. Wife doesn't need explanation it conveys the status of being unified in life. The commitment to each other is no less but the understanding and perception of others to our commitment is clearer by recognising it as a marriage. “Marriage is a universal institution whereas civil unions were essentially created to avoid non- heterosexual couples participating in marriage. The amendment to the law was always about the state's role in issuing a marriage licence. How a couple then carry out the marriage is their decision.” Wall says civil unions should always be an option for everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity but not the only option for one part of society.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 21st December 2015 - 10:41am