The Homosexual Marriage Mirage

Flying Spaghetti Monsters

Homosexual "marriage" is being weaponised in New Zealand.  The bureaucrat in charge of the register of marriage celebrants, Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Jeff Montgomery claims that he is bound by the NZ Human Rights Act to prevent any discrimination against homosexuals.  Therefore, according to Mr Montgomery's peculiar perspective on things, if someone applies to be a marriage celebrant whose conscience will not permit them to "marry" homosexuals, they cannot be an official marriage celebrant.  

Bob McCoskrie of Family First writes:

In response to a request by Family First NZ to the Department of Internal Affairs under the Official Information Act, 22 potential marriage celebrants have had their applications declined just in the last year because they have stated that they don’t want to officiate at same-sex weddings due to personal conviction.

“This flies directly in the face of assurances made by Labour MP Louisa Wall when she introduced the bill to Parliament. She said ‘…What my bill does not do is require any person… to carry out a marriage if it does not fit with the beliefs of the celebrant.’ When the Bill was rushed through to its final reading, it still did not protect the consciences of independent marriage celebrants who are not lawfully able to refuse a request to marry a same-sex couple by reason of the same-sex of the couple,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

A report in the NZ Herald backs up this claim.

The way the law recognizing homosexual "marriage" is framed there are two categories of marriage celebrants permitted.  The first is official marriage celebrants designated by a group (usually a church); the second is independent marriage celebrants.  The law explicitly excludes church designated marriage celebrants from forced compliance with homosexual "marriage".

The law is easily circumvented, apparently.  Marriage bureaucrat-in-chief, Jeff Montgomery makes this clear:

But the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Jeff Montgomery, said independent marriage celebrants were bound by the Human Rights Act not to discriminate against people on the basis of their sexual orientation.  Labour MP Louisa Wall's marriage equality bill, which legalised same-sex marriages in 2013, exempted celebrants nominated by a church or other approved organisation whose "religious beliefs or philosophical or humanitarian convictions" do not allow same-sex marriage. . . .

Montgomery said the application form for marriage celebrants did not ask about same-sex marriages, but he had instructed staff to ask about it when they interviewed applicants.  "When I am personally appointing independent marriage celebrants [it is to] provide a public service, so if the celebrant says when we ask in the interview that they are unwilling to provide service to anyone who is legally able to get married, including same-sex couples, then they will not be approved," he said.  He advised would-be celebrants rejected for this reason to join an approved church or organisation.

So, how easy is it to create an "approved organisation"?  According to our efficient bureaucrat, it is a doddle, a walk in the park.

"The easy option for them ... would be to align with an approved organisation or to create their own organisation the same way as the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster did," he said.  "I approved them [in 2015] on the basis that they had clear philosophical beliefs, albeit unusual ones, thus they were able to nominate marriage celebrants. [Emphasis, ours]

So, go for it.  Let some bright spark register a society called the Church of Independent Christian Marriage Celebrants.  The society's rules would need to stipulate that members must not approve of, nor celebrate, homosexual marriages.  If the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster can get a free pass, this surely would.

Alternatively, or in addition, churches should consider appointing official marriage celebrants from their congregations.  Provided the church is protestant, it will not recognise marriage as a sacrament: therefore, ordination is not a pre-requisite for officiating at a wedding.  There is nothing to prevent churches from appointing non-ordained clergy as official marriage celebrants.

The law recognising homosexual "marriage" is an ass.  The more it can be mocked, ridiculed, pilloried, and otherwise sent up as secularist nonsense, the better.