New Zealand Parliament Considers Adoption by Gays

Jacinda Arden of the New Zealand Parliament.

Just one day after a bill legalizing same-sex marriage passed its first hurdle in New Zealand's Parliament, the chamber is also considering legalizing adoption by same-sex couples. Member of Parliament Jacinda Arden of the Labor Party sponsored the Care of Children Law Reform Bill, which would update New Zealand's outdated, discriminatory adoption laws.

Under current law, only a single person or married spouses may legally adopt children, reports New Zealand's OneNews. Arden told OneNews that her bill would correct discriminatory inconsistencies in the law, which does not allow couples in a civil union to adopt children. 

"Currently a gay individual can adopt a child, but a gay couple can't," Arden told OneNews. "A de facto heterosexual couple can adopt, but a civil union heterosexual couple can't. This makes no sense and needs to be fixed."

Prime Minister John Key said he would back the bill through at least the first round of Parliamentary hearings, because adoption by gays doesn't bother him, according to 3 News in New Zealand.

Civil unions for same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples have been legal in New Zealand since 2004.