New Zealand the 13th Country to OK Gay Marriage

Parliament passes bill 77-44
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 17, 2013 6:21 AM CDT
New Zealand the 13th Country to OK Gay Marriage
Jills Angus Burney, left, and Deborah Hambly, who are hoping to get married themselves, arrive at New Zealand's Parliament in Wellington to watch lawmakers vote on gay marriage April 17, 2013.   (AP Photo/Nick Perry)

New Zealand today became the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize gay marriage, the AP reports. Globally, it is the thirteenth country to do so. Lawmakers in Parliament voted 77 to 44 in favor of the bill, and hundreds of onlookers immediately started singing a New Zealand anthem in an indigenous language to celebrate. The other countries where same-sex marriage is legal: the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, and soon, Uruguay. (More New Zealand stories.)

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