Toronto's tourism industry has been hurting since the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), but the city was not expecting help from the courts. However, when the Ontario Appeals Court declared that prohibitions against homosexual marriage violated Canada's Charter of Rights, tourism in Toronto received a boost. Since that day hundreds of gay couples have rushed to Ontario to get married, including dozens of American same-sex couples.
According to the court, "The restriction against same-sex marriage is an offense to the dignity of lesbians and gays, because it limits the range of relationship options open to them." The court rejected the attorney general's argument that marriage should be exclusively a heterosexual institution and ordered the city of Toronto to begin immediately issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples.
Tour companies have already created packages aimed at attracting same-sex couples in the United States to Canada for weddings. Toronto's City Hall plans to remain open for Pride weekend, June 28-29, to give couples a chance to marry. Many Americans have crossed the border in hopes that registering and exchanging vows will put pressure on their own government to adopt similar laws. There are also hopes that one day such certificates will be recognized in the U.S.
The Canadian government could have chosen to appeal the ruling, but Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chretien instead said, "there is evolution in society and according to the interpretation of the courts, they concluded these unions should be legal in Canada." Chretien plans to introduce new legislation that will change the marriage law in Canada, making Canada the first country in the Americas to allow legal same-sex marriages. The new law will be submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada for review and then put to a Parliament vote. Chretien is pushing to have the draft ready within a few weeks and would like to see it brought before Parliament before elections next year. The current liberal government has an overwhelming majority and is not expected to have any problems passing the legislation, despite opposition by some members. Until it is approved by Parliament, gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry only in the province of Ontario.
Chretien quickly noted that such legislation would not require religious groups to perform same-sex weddings, but this has not eased concerns among Christians. About 600 evangelical Christians gathered outside Ontario Superior Court last week to protest the ruling, and more protests are expected this summer. Joseph Heath, professor of ethics and political economy at the University of Montreal, believes the growing acceptance of homosexuality "shows how completely secularism has displaced religion as the source of popular morality." The Bible is pretty clear, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." Heath said, "It takes an awful lot of massaging to interpret that as anything other than a condemnation of homosexuality."
Religious groups have also found an ally in Ralph Klein, premier of Alberta, who warned that his conservative western province would refuse to permit homosexual marriages, even if they were legal throughout the rest of the nation. The "Notwithstanding Clause, Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" allows any province to put off decisions by the federal government for five years, after which the province can choose to re-enact the clause. However, the Canadian Supreme Court could eventually overrule Alberta's attempt to invoke the notwithstanding clause.
Canada's neighbors to the south have been watching these rulings with great interest. In the United States, homosexual marriage lacks full legal recognition in all 50 states. Vermont recognizes civil unions that give homosexual couples the full benefits and responsibilities of marriage but which are separate from legal marriage. Massachusetts may legalize gay marriage sometime in the next month, causing a new round of controversy. Some believe the rulings in Canada will help the cause of gay marriage in the U.S., but others believe it is just one more example of the deepening rift between the two neighbors.
According to the court, "The restriction against same-sex marriage is an offense to the dignity of lesbians and gays, because it limits the range of relationship options open to them." The court rejected the attorney general's argument that marriage should be exclusively a heterosexual institution and ordered the city of Toronto to begin immediately issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples.
Tour companies have already created packages aimed at attracting same-sex couples in the United States to Canada for weddings. Toronto's City Hall plans to remain open for Pride weekend, June 28-29, to give couples a chance to marry. Many Americans have crossed the border in hopes that registering and exchanging vows will put pressure on their own government to adopt similar laws. There are also hopes that one day such certificates will be recognized in the U.S.
The Canadian government could have chosen to appeal the ruling, but Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chretien instead said, "there is evolution in society and according to the interpretation of the courts, they concluded these unions should be legal in Canada." Chretien plans to introduce new legislation that will change the marriage law in Canada, making Canada the first country in the Americas to allow legal same-sex marriages. The new law will be submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada for review and then put to a Parliament vote. Chretien is pushing to have the draft ready within a few weeks and would like to see it brought before Parliament before elections next year. The current liberal government has an overwhelming majority and is not expected to have any problems passing the legislation, despite opposition by some members. Until it is approved by Parliament, gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry only in the province of Ontario.
Chretien quickly noted that such legislation would not require religious groups to perform same-sex weddings, but this has not eased concerns among Christians. About 600 evangelical Christians gathered outside Ontario Superior Court last week to protest the ruling, and more protests are expected this summer. Joseph Heath, professor of ethics and political economy at the University of Montreal, believes the growing acceptance of homosexuality "shows how completely secularism has displaced religion as the source of popular morality." The Bible is pretty clear, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." Heath said, "It takes an awful lot of massaging to interpret that as anything other than a condemnation of homosexuality."
Religious groups have also found an ally in Ralph Klein, premier of Alberta, who warned that his conservative western province would refuse to permit homosexual marriages, even if they were legal throughout the rest of the nation. The "Notwithstanding Clause, Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" allows any province to put off decisions by the federal government for five years, after which the province can choose to re-enact the clause. However, the Canadian Supreme Court could eventually overrule Alberta's attempt to invoke the notwithstanding clause.
Canada's neighbors to the south have been watching these rulings with great interest. In the United States, homosexual marriage lacks full legal recognition in all 50 states. Vermont recognizes civil unions that give homosexual couples the full benefits and responsibilities of marriage but which are separate from legal marriage. Massachusetts may legalize gay marriage sometime in the next month, causing a new round of controversy. Some believe the rulings in Canada will help the cause of gay marriage in the U.S., but others believe it is just one more example of the deepening rift between the two neighbors.
I'm pretty sure if you visit Canada Rail you will be forced into a homosexual marriage so you would be best not to visit. You really are a blind God nut aren't you Rail. So dumb and so predictable. Gee what does Rail think about this? don't ask him he has no opinion he does and thinks only as he is told by a single pamphlet about a fictious character.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>ITs a shame you guys buy into the gay agenda and propoganda, this is a sin and should not be tolerated in society.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I could have sworn there was something in the New Testament about man not being qualified to righteously judge others ... 'judge not lest ye be judged ...' 'do not remove the mite from your brother's eye until you have torn the plank from your own ...' that sort of thing.
Rail, maybe you should have a heart-to-heart with your pastor or preacher or priest or whatever the HNIC at your church is called.
Phaedrus
I could have sworn there was something in the New Testament about man not being qualified to righteously judge others ... 'judge not lest ye be judged ...' 'do not remove the mite from your brother's eye until you have torn the plank from your own ...' that sort of thing.
Rail, maybe you should have a heart-to-heart with your pastor or preacher or priest or whatever the HNIC at your church is called.
Phaedrus
Rail, neither I nor the Bible says anything about tolerance -- but the Bible does specifically say (in fact, Jesus himself specifically said) that man is not qualified to judge his fellow man's state of grace or lack thereof. Of course, like most other Christians, you have a convenient blind spot for any part of the Bible which does not suit your existing beliefs -- a curious slap in the face of the concept of "faith."
Phaedrus
Phaedrus
