Gay rights advocates in New Zealand celebrated Wednesday after the country's Parliament passed a bill legalizing same sex marriage according to CNN. They're the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so.
Parliament voted 77-44 on the bill's third reading, which is the penultimate step to enact laws in New Zealand. The final step, which consists of the governor-general giving royal assent, is considered a sure thing. The local media is reporting the law is expected to take effect in four months.
"In my view, marriage is a very personal thing between two individuals," Prime Minister John Key said. "And, in the end, this is part of equality in modern-day New Zealand."
"In our society, the meaning of marriage in universal, it's a declaration of love and commitment to a special person," said Louisa Wall, the sponsor of the bill.
She later released a statement saying she is "very proud to be a member of a Parliament that has voted overwhelmingly to give New Zealanders, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation or gender, the right to marry."
When the news was announced, people watching from the public gallery, as well as some lawmakers, broke into song, singing in Maori, the indigenous language.
The passage in New Zealand ocurred a week after lawmakers in Uruguay approved a measure legalizing same sex marriage. That measure is waiting on the signature of the president of Uruguay, who has indicated support of the measure.
After the passage of the laws in New Zealand and Uruguay, the count of nations that allow same sex marriage will rise to 13.
There are other nations still contemplating legalizing the practice, such as lawmakers in the United Kingdom and France. There are 11 countries in total that allow legal same sex marriage, of which eight are in Europe.
The first country to legalize it was the Netherlands, which did so in 2001, later being joined by Belgium, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Portugal and Denmark. The remaining, non-European countries are Argentina, Canada and South Africa.
The Supreme Court in Nepal ruled in favor of same sex marriage in 2008, but the rights are not currently in effect, due to the uncertainty around the Nepalese constitution.
Legalized same sex marriage is still a hotly debated topic in the U.S., though many prominent Republicans have spoken recently about their openness to its passage, such as Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove.
The issue has also gone before the U.S. Supreme Court, which will render a decision in June. During the deliberation process, gay rights group the Human Rights Campaign began a social media campaign to support legalized same sex marriage, which went viral.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
