Those who wish to voice their opposition to the Marriage (Gender Clarification) Bill are being asked to join a lunchtime gathering at Parliament on 7 December, the date of the bill's first reading in Parliament. Victoria University's glbt student support group UniQ is organising the gathering. UniQ President Paul Brown says gays and lesbians should support it because the proposed bill infringes on their human rights. As well as declaring that marriage in New Zealand can only ever be between a man and a woman, the Marriage (Gender Clarification) Bill grants special rights to heterosexual married couples by over-riding the Bill of Rights Act, passed in 1990. A backdoor clause in the new bill states that promoting marriage in "good faith" cannot be considered discriminatory, a provision which an Attorney-General's report says is a violation of the Bill of Rights Act, because it unfairly discriminates against both same-sex and heterosexual defacto couples. In a press release issued this week, Copeland reiterated statements made to GayNZ.com that his bill is not anti-gay, but pro-marriage. UniQ's Paul Brown isn't buying it. "I have absolutely no idea how this couldn't be an anti-gay bill," he says. "It's excluding us from the right to be able to marry." Brown also takes issue with Copeland's assertion that a lot of people feel uneasy about civil unions, and his bill is necessary to redress the balance. "That's obviously his opinion, because I haven't encountered any problems with it. I don't know of anyone that feels uneasy about our rights being increased." The gathering will begin at 12pm with speeches on Parliament's lawn before proceeding inside to the public gallery for the bill's first reading.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 30th November 2005 - 12:00pm