New Zealand Celebrants do not have conscience option against Homosexual Marriage
A Legal Opinion obtained by Family First NZ from Barrister Ian Bassett has labeled the conscientious exemption proposed by the Select Committee Report on the same-sex marriage bill as 'unprincipled and wrong', 'misguided', 'unjustifiably discriminatory', and 'based upon flawed legal advice'. "The Report of the Government Administration Select Committee states: 'It is our intention that the passage of this bill should not impact negatively upon people's religious freedoms… The bill seeks to extend the legal right to marry to same-sex couples; it does not seek to interfere with people's religious freedoms.' Yet the Legal Opinion clearly explains that 'the advice of the Crown Law Office and the Ministry of Justice and the resultant recommendation of the Select Committee will interfere with people's rights to act according to their beliefs and conscience'", says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family Firs