John Key is claiming that National has a strong record on gay rights. Oh really? Lest anyone forget:
- 24 of 27 National MPs, including John Key himself, voted against Civil Unions. 14 of those MPs are now in Cabinet. All three who supported the bill have now been forced out of Parliament.
- 36 National MPs voted for marriage bigotry, in the form of Gordon Copeland's revolting Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill. 15 of those MPs are now in Cabinet.
- During the same debate, 6 National MPs - including current Cabinet Ministers Judith Collins, John Carter, and Nick Smith - voted to remove sexual orientation from the protection of the Human Rights Act.
(Yes, they repealed provocation - but only because it was being used to excuse the murder of a straight woman rather than another gay man, and only after Labour had a repeal bill drawn from the ballot. Until then, it was just not a priority for them).
