Enough is enough

New Zealand has just gone through the political agony of passing legislation to provide for civil union; a legal celebration of a union that mimics the law surrounding marriage. It is puzzling that the only people in New Zealand who want to get married these days are gay. Companion legislation, which is under consideration, validates de facto relationships and gives them the same rights and obligations as formal marriages in the name of equality. The problem with this is the suggestion that it will be retrospective; a form of compulsory unionism. While the Reverend Moon marries thousands at a time in South Korean stadiums, this law has the potential to be the biggest 'mass marriage' in history.

I was first elected to the New Zealand parliament in 1972 and I spoke about how dreadful our laws were that could imprison people for their bedroom activities. It was the Canadian prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, who coined the phrase: 'The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.'

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