A former New Zealand lawmaker has become an unexpected gay rights icon in Japan, with a speech he made in 2013 going viral among Japanese Twitter users.Maurice Williamson, who is now the consul general in Los Angeles, delivered the speech on April 17, 2013, to the New Zealand parliament in support of a fellow lawmaker's bill to legalize same-sex marriage.The humorous speech set out to convince New Zealanders that "the world will just carry on" even if same-sex marriage is legalized.
