SAY I DO – send a postcard to your MP today!

Marriage equality has passed another significant hurdle in New Zealand this evening.  Before a bill can be voted on for the third and final time, it is considered by the Committee of the whole House.  During this process any Member of Parliament can propose an amendment to the Bill.  Each proposed amendment is then voted on.

Tonight two types of amendments were proposed by MPs in relation to the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill.  The first type of proposed amendments related to a proposal to put marriage equality to a public referendum.  These proposals were ruled out of order because they had already been defeated at the Bill’s second reading and so did not result in any amendments to the Bill.

The second type of proposed amendments related to proposals to strengthen the ability of marriage celebrants to decline to marry same sex couples.  The Bill already contains protections in this area – essentially marriage celebrants acting on behalf of a religious institution can refuse to marry a same sex couple if to do so would be contrary to their religious beliefs.  The proposed amendments would have undermined established New Zealand anti-discrimination legislation.  The proposed amendments were voted on and defeated.

The Bill has now been passed back to the House unamended.  It now only needs to be passed at its third and final reading to become law (for full details on how laws are made in NZ, click here).

The third and final reading is likely to happen April 17th 2013.

Obviously everyone is thrilled that the Bill has passed this crucial stage of the legislative process and we’re very much looking forward to gay New Zealanders soon having the same rights as their heterosexual compatriots.

However, now is not the time for complacency, as the Bill has not yet become law.  People who want to see marriage equality become a reality in New Zealand have an opportunity over the next few weeks to let their MP know how important marriage equality is to them.  Get involved, click here to link back to find out how you can personally help the cause for marriage equality in New Zealand.

Firstly, Spain has reaffirmed marriage equality in a constitutional court ruling – Spain’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, has ruled that gay marriage is protected under the Spanish Constitution.  Great news for Spain!  While same sex marriage has been legal in Spain for seven years and is supported by the majority of Spain’s population, conservatives have been fighting it from within the Spanish government.  That fight is now over and marriage equality is the winner on the day.  For more details, follow this link to LGBT Nation’s article.

Secondly, voters came out in huge numbers to support marriage equality votes in the US states of Maine, Maryland, Washington and Minnesota.  Outstanding!  And while Minnesota is not likely to call the results just yet, it’s looking good, and the results in the other three states have all been called in support of marriage equality.  A fantastic campaign was run by The Four 2012 and others, pushing marriage equality to the forefront on the ballot, helped by celebrity endorsement by the likes of Lady Gaga, Brad Pitt and other fantastic musicians and actors.  We mentioned how nice it is to garner the attention of celebs not that long ago in this short blog, so it does go to show how important it can be!  Congratulations to all those that helped in the US election 2012.

And, add to this, back home here in New Zealand, Louisa Wall was asked to give the opening submission on her Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill today.  She stressed to the select committee that denying marriage equality was denying a human right that should be available to all New Zealanders.  Also reported was the expectation that the Bill will face opposition from conservatives and religious groups.  For the full article, click here.  For more about those that are opposed the bill, here is a short blog we wrote about their campaigning – if anything, it demonstrates how important it is for us not to become complacent in our own campaigning for marriage equality simply because written submissions have closed.

By the way, check out Louisa’s wrist in the Stuff article – she’s sporting the newest marriage equality fashion accessory – one of our very own New Zealand Campaign for Marriage Equality wrist bands – stay glued to our web site as they’ll be going on sale very soon or email us now campaign@nzmarriageequality.co.nz, if you can’t wait, but keep campaigning no matter what, until we get these wristbands (see the image below) up and available for sale, if you haven’t already see our downloads for your gadget here and download like a whirlwind!!

New Zealand Campaign for Marriage Equality wristband (set)

Photo credits: PHIL REID/Fairfax NZ,  S. Kidd

Check out our ‘how to make a submission’ guide here for some suggestions and also, have a read of this article by GayNZ last week, that features advice and tips from Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye and the Bill’s author, Labour MP Louisa Wall.

Key points of GayNZ’s article include why you should make a submission, and how you can make a submission – Louisa reiterates the importance of personal and real stories.

This is the only time that we, as private citizens, get to make public submissions so it is important that we take the time to do so.

Be a part of history, make YOUR voice heard, and encourage others to make their voices heard too.

Photo credits: ASM

Sources: GayNZ.com