New Zealand politician welcomes 'gay onslaught' after legalizing same sex marriage

On Wednesday, New Zealand's Parliament voted to legalize same sex marriage, making the country the world's 13th to allow same sex couples to marry and enjoy all of the same privileges as married heterosexuals.

Member of Parliament Maurice Williamson (Pakuranga) addressed the chamber, saying that a clergyman in his district warned that "the gay onslaught will begin the day after the bill is passed."

"Sir, we are really struggling to know what the gay onslaught will look like," Williamson said. "We don't know if it will come down the Pakuranga Highway as a series of troops or whether it'll be a gas that flows in over the electorate and blocks us all in."

He also addressed the concerns of a Catholic priest who expressed concern that Williamson is condoning "an unnatural act."

"I found that quite interesting coming from someone who's taken an oath of celibacy for his whole life," Williamson quipped.

To those who believe that society will come undone and that the legalization of same sex marriage will hurt their families, he said, "All we are doing with this bill is allowing two people who love each other to have that love recognized by way of marriage."

He offered a "watertight, guaranteed promise" to people opposed to the bill, that the sun will come up on Thursday and that their teenaged daughters will still be a pain. And to the conservatives who have argued that same sex marriage acceptance is to blame for New Zealand's current drought, Williamson reassured them that "in the Pakuranga electorate this morning, it was pouring rain."

After which, he reported, "We had the most enormous big gay rainbow across my electorate."

Watch the video, embedded via YouTube, below:

UPDATE: After passing the same sex marriage bill, the New Zealand House of Commons burst into song, singing the traditional New Zealand love song "Pokarekare Ana" as members took turns congratulating openly lesbian Member of Parliament Louisa Wall.

[edit note: This article originally referred to Williamson and Wall as "Ministers of Parliament." Raw Story regrets the error.]