Gay marriage in Canada a distinct possibility

Canadian courts in three provinces have held that gay marriage should be legal in Canada.

Governments should change with the times and recognize gay marriage, the B.C. Appeal Court said today when it joined two other provinces in clearing the way for same sex unions.

The province's highest court overturned a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that said marriage should be restricted to heterosexuals.

In its decision the court gave the federal government until July 12, 2004 to change the law preventing gays and lesbians from marrying.

The BC Justices have suggested reformulating the law so that it would define marriage as "the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others" rather than a union between one man and one woman.

It is possible that the Justice Minister may appeal this ruling, but the article indicates that he hasn't made a decision on that yet, and will need to take into consideration that 2 other provinces have also held that gay marriage should be legal.

Personally, I've never really understood the objection to gay marriage - except for it being another sign of the general bigotry so many have for homosexuals. Various conservative (and, most often, Christian) groups have complained that recognizing gay marriages would some how "damage" the "institution" of marriage, though I fail to see how. Often, these groups claim that gays shouldn't be allowed to marry because they can't have children, but there are many heterosexuals who cannot have children, and many heterosexual couples who choose not to have children, yet the legitimacy of their marriages aren't questioned in the same way.

One anti-gay-marriage group, Focus on the Family, issued a statement about the ruling today.

Michael Martens, a spokesman for Focus on the Family, a group opposed to same-sex marriage, said he was disappointed with the decision and that the issue should be debated in government.

He said the judges haven't taken into consideration the benefits for society which marriage provides.

"Marriage is a social institution, institutions are not about rights, they're about serving society, and marriage does a very good job of that," Martens said outside the court.

"No other relationship provides the unique benefits that marriage does for kids, for the parents themselves and for people who aren't married."

Notice, though, that he doesn't specify what these "benefits" are. I've noticed that a lot - vague mentions that heterosexual marriage provides some vague benefit for society that homosexual marriage would destroy or damage - but those benefits aren't usually very well spelled out.

I'm glad to see the Canadian courts begining to ensure that gays can have the save ability to marry that heterosexual couples do. There is no compelling reason to deny them that right. I only hope that some day the US Courts will do likewise.

Posted by thorswitch at May 1, 2003 08:23 PM | TrackBack