Fifty years ago this week, the great American preacher, Martin Luther King Jr, published a letter explaining his stand on civil disobedience. He was in jail at the time after being arrested for breaking Alabama’s law against mass public demonstrations. Some white clergymen had criticised him for leading illegal marches against segregation – a charge Read more
The Marriage Amendment Bill aims to amend marriage legislation to ensure gay couples are not treated in “a discriminatory manner”. It has passed its first reading and is now open for submissions from the public. In our next piece in a series of opinions, Wairarapa man and future Labour political hopeful Kieran McAnulty says marriage Read more
New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops have expressed disappointment after the Definition of Marriage Bill, allowing for same sex marriage, passed its first reading by 78 to 40 on a conscience vote with no abstentions on Wednesday. “To propose any alternative definition will have implications in law, and in society, but also for education and the family structure Read more
A visiting United States psychiatrist says in sexuality – “and I’m not talking about morality, I’m a physician” – the ideal was one sexual partnership for life, delayed until adulthood. “People that are able to achieve that – not that this is so easy – never have to worry about these myriad health issues.” “Health issues Read more
If the the law is changed to allow same sex adoption will the new law treat female couples and male couples equally? Under existing law it is illegal for a single male to adopt a female. If the law is changed to allow same sex couples to adopt, will a male couple be allowed to Read more
The Salvation Army has apologised to members of gay, lesbian and bisexual communities for the hardline official position the church took during the 1986 homosexual law reform campaign. It made its apology in a joint release distributed by Rainbow Wellington and the Salvation Army. Both organisations say they want a better cooperative future. Tony Simpson, Read more
A TVNZ One News Colmar Brunton poll shows nearly two-thirds support for same sex marriage. Asked if they think same-sex couples should be able to get married, 63% of respondents said yes, 31% said no and 6% did not know or preferred not to say. The Catholic church remains staunchly opposed to gay marriage. “The Read more
Three private members’ bills which would enable same-sex adoption are either in the Parliamentary members’ ballot or are being drafted. One of them is being developed by National’s Nikki Kay and Green’s Kevin Hague. In an email to gayexpress on Monday Hague said “the cat’s out of the bag” after the National Party’s northern regional Read more
Gay rights activists in Suva are angry at Fijian police for canceling a gay pride march. The police reportedly said they were unaware that the march had been organised to advocate gay rights until just before it was scheduled to begin. But Oceania Pride founder Jasmine Kaur has told the Australia Network she properly notified police about Read more
The Washington priest who denied a Lesbian the opportunity of Holy Communion at her mother’s funeral, says it was the only thing he as a faithful priest could do. As reported in CathNews, Fr Marcel Guarnizo denied Holy Communion to Barbara Johnson, a known lesbian in a relationship at her mother’s funeral, in a statement the Read more