The litany of fear and insults continue at the select committee hearings on civil unions, with opponents trotting out the same message – civil unions will lead to incest, bigamy, and paedophilia, and homosexuality is "unnatural". Tears flowed though Richard Tankersley and Jay Hohaia, who became emotional when talking of his relationship. "I want this Government to say my life with this man means something,” he said. "Give me the chance, the very same you guys have. If he dies after 30 years together, I can still be excluded by his family for funeral arrangements." Tankersley said growing up in a Catholic family and feeling unable to admit he was gay had led to thoughts of suicide. He argued that having a formal framework would let homosexual youth know there was a pathway for them. Most of the anti-submissions continued a trend, showing largely that those who oppose civil unions and legal recognition of same-sex relationships also have moral objections to homosexuality itself, illustrated by submitter Susette McLachlan, who said homosexuality was an "aberration that New Zealanders have already shown their opposition to".
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 30th September 2004 - 12:00pm