AUCKLAND: Around 200 campaigners headed to parliament today to march for equal rights for gay couples and gay adoption though Wellington's CBD. The vocal group was armed with signs and slogans reading from “Christians for Equality” to “God hates shrimp” to “One ring to rule us all.” ‘Legalise Love' president and protest organizer, Joseph Habgood told the crowd, “The fact that so many of us are here today from such diverse backgrounds speaks to a very beautiful truth: the world is changing and the weight of history is on our side.” Hubgood said, “The biggest response we've had so far is not against gay marriage, it is utter shock that we don't already have it,” “We want to put this on the political agenda, so that people are aware of the issue,” “It's always going to be controversial, if it wasn't then it would already have been done, but at the same time the global movement has never been as strong as it has been in this last year. It's now a matter of when, not if.” Labor MP Maryan Street supported the protest saying that the issue is the law isn't equal and that Labor would legalize gay marriage and grant adoption rights. “Individual lesbians and gays may adopt, those who are couples and in a stable relationship are not,” she said. “There's nothing equal about that, similarly civil union partners cannot adopt.” Street pointed out that the Labor party helped legalize homosexuality in 1986 and introduce civil unions in 2004. Brooklynne Kennedy, a transgender woman, originally from the United States was among those who addressed the crowd. Kennedy settled for the “awkward and annoying cousin” of marriage, civil union. “Civil union is not the same as a marriage, there are so many limitations and it's time to change that,” Kennedy said. Prime Minister John Key's personal belief is that adoption should depend on “whether the parents love the child and whether they can provide the right home life and environment for them, as opposed to necessarily whether they're gay or heterosexual.” Despite his personal views, he has said changing adoption laws is not a priority for the National party. The group's protest coincided with the United States' Spirit Day. Spirit Day is a day for acknowledging people who have committed suicide as a result of homophobia in schools. BM
