Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

American Samoa Seante rejects bill outlawing same sex marriages

Posted at 06:35 on 20 March, 2003 UTC

The American Samoa Senate has rejected a bill that would outlaw same sex marriages in the territory.

The Senate move comes after the House judiciary committee recommended that the bill be killed.

The bill was introduced by Representative Sua Carl Schuster who said that the legal battles in other states where same sex marriages are allowed should be prevented in the territory.

One male with female inclinations, or faafine, Tifanny Poutasi, told the committee hearing that Samoan faafine don’t believe in marriages with other men, saying this was against their Christian upbringing.

Tifanny Poutasi says they are men who express their femininity through dress and speech but don’t want to go to the extreme of marrying people of the same sex.