i****i
发帖数: 4803 | 1 From The New York Times:
New Zealand Lawmakers Approve Gay Marriage Bill
Hundreds of jubilant gay-rights advocates celebrated at New Zealand’s
Parliament as the country became the thirteenth in the world and the first
in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize same-sex marriage.
http://nyti.ms/Z2vq9E
***
April 17, 2013
New Zealand Lawmakers Approve Gay Marriage Bill
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Hundreds of jubilant gay-rights advocates
celebrated at New Zealand's Parliament Wednesday night as the country become
the 13th in the world and the first in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize
same-sex marriage.
Lawmakers voted 77 to 44 in favor of the gay-marriage bill on its third and
final reading.
People watching from the public gallery and some lawmakers immediately broke
into song after the result was announced, singing the New Zealand love song
"Pokarekare Ana" in the indigenous Maori language.
"For us, we can now feel equal to everyone else," said Tania Penafiel
Bermudez, a bank teller who said she already considers herself married to
partner Sonja Fry but now can get a certificate to prove it. "This means we
can feel safe and fair and right in calling each other wife and wife."
In one of several speeches that ended in a standing ovation, bill sponsor
Louisa Wall told lawmakers the change was "our road toward healing."
"In our society, the meaning of marriage is universal — it's a declaration
of love and commitment to a special person," she said. She added that "
nothing could make me more proud to be a New Zealander than passing this
bill."
Lawmakers from most political parties were encouraged by their leaders to
vote as their conscience dictated rather than along party lines. Although
Wall is from the opposition Labour Party, the bill also was supported by
center-right Prime Minister John Key.
"In my view, marriage is a very personal thing between two individuals," Key
said. "And, in the end, this is part of equality in modern-day New Zealand."
Since 2005, New Zealand has allowed civil unions, which confer many legal
rights to gay couples. The new law will allow gay couples to jointly adopt
children for the first time and will also allow their marriages to be
recognized in other countries. The law will take effect in late August.
"This is really, really huge," said Jills Angus Burney, a lawyer who drove
about 90 minutes to Parliament to watch the vote with her partner, Deborah
Hambly, who had flown in from farther afield. "It's really important to me.
It's just unbelievable."
Burney, a Presbyterian, said she and Hambly want to celebrate with a big,
traditional wedding as soon as possible.
The change in New Zealand could put pressure on some of its neighbors to
consider changing their laws. In Australia, there has been little political
momentum for a change at a federal level and Prime Minister Julia Gillard
has expressed her opposition to same-sex marriage. Some Australian states,
however, are considering gay-marriage legislation.
Rodney Croome, the national director for the lobbying group Australian
Marriage Equality, said that since Friday, 1,000 people had signed an online
survey saying they would travel to New Zealand to wed, though same-sex
marriages would not be recognized under current Australian law.
"There's this really big, pent-up demand for this in Australia," Croome said
. "New Zealand is just a three-hour plane ride away, and many couples are
going to go to New Zealand to marry. They are just so sick and tired of
waiting for the government to act. I think it's going to spark this big
tourism boom."
Many people in New Zealand remain vehemently opposed to gay marriage. The
lobbying group Family First last year presented a petition to Parliament
signed by 50,000 people who opposed the bill. Another 25,000 people have
since added their signatures to that petition.
"Historically and culturally, marriage is about man and a woman, and it
shouldn't be touched," said Family First founder Bob McCoskrie. "It doesn't
need to be."
McCoskrie said same-sex marriage should have been put to a public referendum
rather than a parliamentary vote. That might not have changed the outcome,
however: Surveys indicate that about two-thirds of New Zealanders favor gay
marriage.
The change was given impetus last May when U.S. President Barack Obama
declared his support for gay marriage. That prompted Prime Minister Key to
break his silence on the issue by saying he was "not personally opposed" to
the idea. Wall then put forward the bill, which she had previously drafted.
Same-sex marriage is recognized in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada,
South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina and Denmark.
Lawmakers in Uruguay approved a law last week that President Jose Mujica is
expected to sign. Nine states in the U.S. also recognize such marriages, but
the federal government does not.
In his speech before Wednesday's vote, lawmaker Tau Henare extended a
greeting to people of all sexual identities and concluded with a traditional
greeting in his indigenous Maori.
"My message to you all is, 'Welcome to the mainstream,'" Henare said. "Do
well. Kia Ora."
*** | k*****e
发帖数: 1235 | | m******1
发帖数: 19713 | 3 哈哈，为什么叫Sam? 是在讽刺山姆大叔么^_^
【在 k*****e 的大作中提到】
| D**S
发帖数: 24887 | 4 LOL
You had not watched the Lord of the Ring movies.
The character on the righthand side of the picture is "Sam".
【在 m******1 的大作中提到】
: 哈哈，为什么叫Sam? 是在讽刺山姆大叔么^_^
| m******1
发帖数: 19713 | 5 我还真没看过。。
【在 D**S 的大作中提到】
: LOL
: You had not watched the Lord of the Ring movies.
: The character on the righthand side of the picture is "Sam".
| D**S
发帖数: 24887 | 6 左面叫Frodo,电影主角,指环的持有人.右面叫Sam, Frodo的旅途同伴兼事实上的仆从.
话说有传闻Frodo的演员Eliza Wood本人也是同志?
【在 m******1 的大作中提到】
: 我还真没看过。。
| k*****e
发帖数: 1235 | 7 因为指环王是在新西兰拍的，而且两个主角基情四射一贯是腐女们YY的最爱。
不过你说的这个理由也很好，可以成为第三层意思。
【在 m******1 的大作中提到】
: 哈哈，为什么叫Sam? 是在讽刺山姆大叔么^_^
| S***e
发帖数: 4426 | 8 最爱Aragon。嗯，看来不算腐女哈。
【在 k*****e 的大作中提到】
: 因为指环王是在新西兰拍的，而且两个主角基情四射一贯是腐女们YY的最爱。
: 不过你说的这个理由也很好，可以成为第三层意思。
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