New Zealand: Sixty Percent Support Gay Marriage

Look out Australia, now the Kiwi's are pushing for gay marriage too. A new random telephone poll of 500 people (there are only 4.4 million people in New Zealand, and approximately 50 million sheep) showed that 60% of them believe same sex marriages should be permitted in New Zealand, reports GayNZ.com. "Females are in favour of same sex marriages to a larger extent than males by 66 percent to 54 percent," the report specifies. "Likewise, a higher proportion of males than females oppose same sex marriages at 41 percent to 27 percent. The attitude to same sex marriage is strongly related to age group; in the age group 15-34 years, 70 percent are in favour compared to 44 percent among those 55 years and over."

The poll result closely matches similar studies carried out here in Australia (where support for same sex marriages is currently sitting at 57 percent). New Zealand's same-sex couples have been allowed full legal recognition of their relationships under the country's Civil Union law reform in 2005, but the union ceremonies are not called 'marriages'. The latest research see's Kiwi gay groups promise to push for full same-sex marriage as the country heads to a general election later this year. "The only way to ensure that we keep up the pressure on the politicians in power at all times," says the Rainbow Wellington lobby group.

Source: Same Same