Maurice Williamson left other Parliament members in stitches with his speech, which was delivered just before New Zealand became the first Asia-Pacific nation (and the 13th in the world) to legalize same-sex marriage marriage.
"I've had a reverend in my local electorate say, 'The gay onslaught will start the day this law is passed.' Well, we are struggling to know what the gay onslaught will look like," Williamson, who has three adopted children of his own, joked. "I also had a leader telling me I would burn in the fires of hell for eternity, and that was a bad mistake, because I've got a degree in physics."
After Williamson poked more fun at his opponents, his speech took a more serious turn. "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 said. "We are not declaring nuclear war on a foreign state; we are not bringing a virus in that could wipe out our agriculture sector forever."
Williamson also took to Twitter to drive his point home, pointing to a rainbow which appeared over his electorate:
