Two lesbian mothers appeared before a parliamentary select committee in support of the Care of Children Bill yesterday, saying that it would help recognise the rights of same-sex couples helping to raise their partners' children. Reverend Dr Margaret Mayman and Helen Beaumont, both members of the St Andrew's on the Terrace parish in central Wellington, said their parish supported the bill also, which removes discrimination against same-sex parenting arrangements and recognises the diversity of the family. The parish provided a written submission, which said there was no evidence to suggest gays and lesbians were unfit to be parents, or that the psychosocial development of their children would be compromised. Rev Mayman, previously married, has now been in a lesbian relationship for seven years, and her partner has been a co-parent to her child, but the existing laws give no recognition to this. "The law regards my partner as a stranger to my child," Rev Mayman told the committee. The fundamentalist-tinged United Future party, which the Labour government often relies on to pass its legislation, is unmoved by submissions like Rev Mayman's – it's trying to have the bill reworded to discriminate in favour of heterosexual married couples.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 9th October 2003 - 12:00pm