New Zealand: Lawmakers Approve Gay Marriage Bill, 13th Country to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

New Zealand has become the 13^th country in the world and the first in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize same-sex marriage.

Wednesday marked a vote by lawmakers, 77 to 44, in favor of the gay-marriage bill on its third and final reading.

Reports indicate that many broke into the New Zealand love song "Pokarekare Ana" in their indigenous Maroi language.  

"For us, we can now feel equal to everyone else," said Tania Penafiel Bermudez according to CNN, a bank teller who said she already considers herself married to partner Sonja Fry but now can get a certificate to prove it. "This means we can feel safe and fair and right in calling each other wife and wife."

In one of several speeches that ended in a standing ovation, bill sponsor Louisa Wall told lawmakers the change was "our road toward healing."

"In our society, the meaning of marriage is universal - it's a declaration of love and commitment to a special person," she said. She added that "nothing could make me more proud to be a New Zealander than passing this bill."

Despite the fact that Wall is from the opposition Labour Party, the bill also was supported by center-right Prime Minister John Key.

"In my view, marriage is a very personal thing between two individuals," Key said. "And, in the end, this is part of equality in modern-day New Zealand."

As of 2005, the country allowed civicl unions, which gave many legal rights to gay couples. However, the new law allows them to jointly adopt children for the first time and also allows their marriages to be recognized in other parts of the world. 

New Zealand is hoping that this law may put pressure on neighboring countries, including Australia, to consider making similar changes. 

The law will take affect in late August.