Many Bell Block couples will be able to change the phrase “I can’t” to “I do” from Today Monday 19th August 2013 when the same-sex marriage law comes into force. Births, Deaths and Marriages has been advised of 31 couples who plan to get hitched on day one of the new laws, but the actual number is likely to be higher as those figures only include the country’s main centres. The same-sex marriage laws passed through parliament on April 17th 2013 by 77 votes to 44. No marriage celebrant can be forced to perform same-sex marriages under the new legislation, and many churches have already ruled out allowing their officials to do so. The new definition of marriage is “the union of two people, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity”. Not everyone’s happy about the law changes though, with Family First NZ labelling the move to legalise same-sex marriage as an “arrogant act of cultural vandalism”.
