Gay gay gay

The NZ Herald, Listener, Sunday Star Times and Investigate Magazine in their own ways have tackled issues around gay partnerships. The SST had a United Future advertisement - paid by you, the taxpayer - against the Civil Union Bill, the Herald reported it, the Listener ( story not online) has a story on a gay man who did not support the civil union bill - taking the line supported by Andrew Sullivan, and the Investigate Magazine, in typical fashion, had a story on Tim Barnett, called "Queerly Beloved". This just after the SST and the Metro had articles on Chris Carter's 27-year (or so) relationship the same weekend that the story on SST editor Cate Bret was run by Metro.

The Investigate article noted that of the more than 100 statutory entitlements that confer legal benefits, protections and obligations to married couples, de facto couples have over thirty while same-sex couples have just nine.

Well the writer - Bernard Moran, surely his surname has been misspelled - flogged the info off Tim Barnett's web site, but these figures are several years old, compiled before the passage of the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001- and they call the magazine Investigate!! Apparently Moran has been the Auckland coordinator for the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child as well as a contact person for Family Life International. He quotes a David Reardon of the Elliot Institute on next of kin issues. The Elliott Institute? No I had never heard of them either, but it can be found here at www.afterabortion.org. Elliot, a name picked from a baby's name book, was chosen as a neutral name. Maybe Moran is cultivating his SPUC links.

But lets move on.

Fact: There are at least 51 statutes that no longer distinguish between married and unmarried couples in New Zealand, not nine, or thirty. Eleven statutes alone were amended with the passage of the Human Rights Amendment Act. One day I may even list them all on the blog.

Moran failed to mention that the Civil Union Bill will not provide any further legal benefits to unmarried couples than provided for under the Omnibus (Legal Recognition of Relationships) Bill. Maybe he didn’t even know that. All unmarried partners - gay or straight - will automatically receive legal benefits under the passage of an Onmibus Bill even if the Civil Union Bill is defeated. Hence the two bills: One for legal recognition, the other for social recognition.

The only distinction - apart from marital status - may be if the Property Relationships Act does not extend to the partners of a civil union from registration.

My lastest article on gay partnerships is here. You should read it . If you`re interested, here's a report on the latest US Poll saying that if gay marriage is legalised, most Americans think the institution of marriage will be downgraded.