New Zealand

It is an ongoing discussion in many countries: Same-sex marriage. In August 2013, New Zealand legalized it, being the 13th country in the world to do so. The parliament easily approved an amendment to the 1955 marriage laws and since then the country is the first in the Asia-Pacific region to allow gays and lesbians to marry. The bill which defines marriage as a “union between two people”, was sponsored by Louisa Wall of the country`s Labour party. In her speech she said that nothing could make her more proud to be a New Zealander than passing this bill. Certainly it is because she is lesbian herself.

If you are interested in her opinion about this topic, you can watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjW-dtO41Ac

This new amendment was supported by some political parties in the country, including Prime Minister John Key. But there was also public opposition that came from the Catholic Church in New Zealand, as well as from the Conservative Party.

In the year after the legalization, 926 same-sex marriages were registered in New Zealand, of which were 520 between female couples and 406 between male couples. In total, 3.9% of marriages registered in New Zealand were same-sex.

As you can see, New Zealand seems to be open-minded in reference to minority groups.