Garth McVicar, the head of New
Zealand's victim lobby group, says crime will increase if gay and
lesbian couples are allowed to marry.
Lawmakers are currently debating a bill
which would legalize gay marriage in the nation.
McVicar, head of the Sensible
Sentencing Trust, submitted to Parliament that allowing such unions
would have a devastating effect on society, leading to an escalation
of child abuse and domestic violence.
“The marriage amendment bill will not
benefit society at all and will ultimately have detremetal [sic]
effect on crime at all levels,” McVicar's written testimony reads.
McVicar's submission is one of more
than 20,000 received by a select committee considering the measure.
Green MP Kevin Hague told Fairfax
that the submission was the only one he'd seen linking marriage
equality to crime.
“Although it echoes a number of
submissions that say marriage has been the same way for a long time
and that if you tamper with it there will be lots of unforeseen
circumstances,” he said.
McVicar's comments drew this response
on Twitter from Labour MP Grant Robertson: “I was sold this
marriage equality thing on the grounds that it would reduce crime –
fashion crime that is.”