Same sex couples could be marrying by next month if a New Zealand Bill is passed tomorrow.
The Marriage Amendment Bill is expected to return to Parliament tomorrow for the committee stages after easily passing its second reading by 77 votes to 44. It could become law next month.
However a poll held by the nation’s main newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, shows opposition to same sex marriage has grown, with 48% of those polled saying marriage should be between a man and a woman. This is a 7.5% rise on that recorded in a previous poll last June.
Same sex marriage campaigners blame a scare campaign by the religious right for the rise in opposition. Civil Unions for same sex couples in New Zealand were introduced in April 2005.