CONGRATS to the first civil union couple in New Zealand!!

[Bluebear]

April 10, 2005
by Patrick Crewdson

The couple likely to be the first to celebrate a civil union are already planning their honeymoon. And the destination? Where else but "gay Paree".

With the Civil Union Act coming into effect in three weeks to grant couples an alternative to marriage, the first ceremony is likely to be between two gay Wellingtonians known as the poster boys for civil unions.

John Jolliff, 75, and Des Smith, 65, rose to prominence campaigning for the controversial law last year.

And when it comes into force on Tuesday, April 26, they plan to be waiting outside the registrar's office to apply for their licence. All applicants will have to endure a three-day stand-down period, which means no civil unions are likely to take place before the Saturday, but Messrs. Jolliff and Smith have theirs booked for the following day, Sunday, May 1, with an old friend, Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast, on celebrant duties.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10119683

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"I'd be delighted to conduct John and Des' civil union ceremony. Couples like John and Des, who have been together for 18 years, deserve the same rights as any other couple. They deserve to be recognised as each other's next of kin and have their relationship officially acknowledged," Mayor Prendergast says.

"John and Des are in a committed, loving relationship. There is no reason why their love and commitment shouldn't be officially recognised. It's a basic human right," Mayor Prendergast says.

"Wellington is a city of tolerance, a city where differences and diversity are celebrated. It seems fitting for the first ceremony to be held here."

http://www.wellington.govt.nz/news/display-item.php?id=2073
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Naturally:

New Zealand Christians Decry Unmarried Couples Law
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/004/15.35.html

"If you recognize any other relationships as equal to marriage," says Graham Capill, leader of the small Christian Heritage Party, "you have devalued the institution of marriage."