Thanks Daniela for posting this.
I am a bit biased, since I am: 1.) gay, 2.) married, 3.) to another man. We got us one of them fancy new same-sex marriages back in 2004 in Canada. But I was not at all blasé about this week's events: Himself and I watched the third reading holding hands, trying to get a more nuanced sense of our new home. And like many political events it was a mix of blather, boredom, ire and inspiration.
But when the waiata started we were both blubbering--at least I knew it was coming when the Speaker made the pre-result announcement. A few days later and I'm still getting messages and emails from around the world: the video of
Pokarekare Ana has gone viral. As one relative said "here in the US we can't have a dignified or adult discussion about things like this; in New Zealand you sing about them." Perhaps not always, but what a moment.
There are those who have a great deal of trepidation about the marriage law changes. I understand that: I grew up in a strict Irish Catholic culture, one which I had to unlearn a fair bit to accept
myself. These things are a re-ordering of the world, to a certain extent. But I can also re-assure folks that a decade after marriage equality came to Canada, life for most Canadians remains unchanged. But for a minority, life has been transformed. I suspect you need to either have a profound sense of being unequal--or love someone who experiences it--to fully understand that. But it's been lovely to see so many of my friends and colleagues here in NZ similarly unburdened. You free up a lot of energy when you begin to feel more fully a citizen.