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Marriage is governed by an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. The minimum age at which couples can get married is 18 years of age but those aged 16 or 17 can get married if parental consent is obtained. Polygamy is not permitted, and there are prohibitions of marriages between some relatives and some who are already in a civil union. There has been a steady reduction in the number of marriages since the 1970s and there has been a shift in the age of those who get married. Teenage brides made up 32 percent of all brides in 1971, compared with just 3 percent in 1999. ==Legislation== New Zealand legislation relating to marriage was initially based on British law. The Marriage Act of 1854 was the first such Act governing aspects of marriage in New Zealand and the Marriage Act 1955 is the current legislation. The Marriage Amendment Act 2005 was passed predominately to add provisions relation to civil unions as a consequence of the passage of the Civil Union Act 2004.〔(Marriage Amendment Act 2005 )〕 In 2005, United Future Member of Parliament (MP) Gordon Copeland sponsored the Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill that would have amended the Marriage Act to define marriage as only between a man and a woman, and amend anti-discrimination protections in the Bill of Rights related to marital and family status so that the bill could stand. This move was strongly criticised by opponents of the legislation, such as then-Attorney General Michael Cullen as an overly 'radical' attack on the Bill of Rights. The bill also would have prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriages from foreign countries as marriages in New Zealand. The bill had its first reading debate on 7 December 2005, and subsequently failed 47 votes in favour to 73 votes against.〔(Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill — First Reading )〕 In 2012 the National Party MP Jackie Blue introduced the Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill to prevent the forced marriage of 16- and 17-year-olds. There are about 80 applications per year for marriages between 16- and 17-year-olds.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 DRAFT FOR CONSULTATION - Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill )〕 In May 2012, Labour Party MP Louisa Wall stated that she would introduce a private member's bill, the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, allowing same-sex couples to marry. The bill was submitted to the members' bill ballot on 30 May 2012. Green Party MP Kevin Hague also submitted a same-sex marriage bill, the Marriage (Equality) Amendment Bill, to the ballot on 24 June Wall and Hague stated that they planned to work together in support of whichever bill comes up first, and in July Wall's bill was drawn from the ballot. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Marriage in New Zealand」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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