Starshine

Canada backs same-sex marriage
By Doug Struck
Toronto
December 11, 2004

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Newlyweds Kevin Cahill and Chip Lenno.
Photo: AP
Canada's Supreme Court has declared same-sex marriages constitutional.

It has given Parliament the go-ahead to pass a national law legalising gay marriage, a step that has strong support in Canada. If the law passes, Canada will join Belgium and the Netherlands as the world's only countries to fully legalise such unions.

This week gay and lesbian couples in Wellington and Auckland celebrated as New Zealand's Parliament voted to give them legal recognition through civil unions, labelled by opponents as "gay marriage in drag". Same-sex and de facto couples will be able to formally register their relationships from April next year. Marriage remains a separate entity.

One of South Africa's highest courts ruled this month that the official definition of marriage should be expanded to include gay partnerships. The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of a lesbian couple who challenged the constitutional definition of marriage. The ruling must be confirmed by South Africa's Constitutional Court - its highest court - if gay marriages are to be permitted officially. Activists hailed the ruling as an important step forward in a country that already grants gay rights, including child adoption and inheritance.

The trend in the Commonwealth countries runs counter to moves in the US, where referendums banning gay marriage passed in 11 states last month. President George Bush has said he will seek a constitutional amendment to prevent gay marriage.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, of the Liberal Party, said he would introduce the gay marriage legislation early next year. Opponents promised a spirited fight in Parliament. "We have to protect marriage," said Gwendolyn Landolt, national vice-president of Real Women of Canada, a group opposed to gay marriage. "Those Liberal members of Parliament have to know they are not going to be re-elected" if they vote for the measure, she said. Mr Martin said he expected the law to pass.

Toronto's annual Gay Pride Day parade draws hundreds of thousands of people, including nearly every successful or aspiring politician. Gay partners of Canadian military personnel get spousal benefits. Openly gay men occupy cabinet seats and other top government posts with barely a shrug from the public.

The opposition Conservative Party is against religious marriage of gay partners, but supports legal civil unions between same-sex partners.

"Canada is without a doubt one of the best - if not the best - places to live as a gay or lesbian person," said Douglas Elliott, a Toronto lawyer involved in the Supreme Court case and president of an international association that monitors laws on gays. "It's hard to believe that just a river separates us from the reality in the United States."

The situation in Canada has changed quickly. Eleven years ago, Charles Schouwerwou and William Shannon were refused a marriage licence in Ontario. "The clerks (at City Hall) were horrified when we walked up to the desk," Mr Schouwerwou said. This May, Mr Schouwerwou, 44, and Mr Shannon, 57, his partner of 17 years, went back to City Hall to wed. "We were treated with incredible respect," Mr Schouwerwou said. "It was a warm feeling, except the form still has the words 'bride and groom'. We've gone from a society with fears and misgivings to where same-sex couples are commonplace."

Mr Elliott said the seeds of change were planted in the late 1960s by prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who said that "the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation".

Mr Elliott and other lawyers have won rulings in six of Canada's 10 provinces and one of its three territories that same-sex couples cannot be denied marriage rights available to heterosexual couples.

In January 2001, after a favourable ruling by a court in Ontario, Joe Varnell and Kevin Bourassa became the first gay men in Canada to legally marry in a church.

Since then, the six provinces have issued marriage licences to thousands of same-sex couples, and significant numbers of US gay men and lesbians have crossed the border for weddings.

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Its about bloody time. Although, its been legal in Ontario for quite some time now, but its nice to know that all of Canada is open-minded, and willing to let gay people have the right to marry, adopt, and live a normal life, just like everyone else.

Loc

*sigh* One more reason I should move to Canada. Thanks for the article!

Starshine

Anytime.

Nanny

LOL, I was waiting for one of us to post this. And since, well, I was the one waiting, I figured it'd be you.



O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee



Damn. I didn't realize our anthem was so short.

Starshine

ROFL

[sn]Family Guy's on in half an hour! Eee lol[/sn]

lmfao It is pretty short, isnt it? *hugs the flag and our little tiny anthem*

Nanny

*knows this*

DUDE! I just realized, Joel and I can get married at home now. Unless that rat bastard Ralph Klein thinks he's above federal law. *kicks that rat bastard in the balls*

EDIT: If it's so short, then why the hell does it take ten years to spit it out? Boourns for dragging anthems. I still heart it though.

Starshine

DUDE! Yay! ..Except, we'll be in New York then.. so you'll have to come back home to get married! lol I know for one that I'm NOT giving up Canadian citizenship. I'm gonna bisexual that up too, and get split citzenship. lol

Nanny

Ugh... I still can't believe you're asking me to move out of this country.

Starshine

Says the kid that already has the loft decorated in his head. lol

Nanny

Dude, IKEA Furniture! How can you not already have a plan for decorating with IKEA FURNITURE! LOL. Do you know what's sad?!?! This thread is going to be closed because we should be taking it to PM, when REALLY, we should be taking it to the living room.

So, yeah, GO GAY MARRIAGE!