Gay Marriage is now officially legal in all of Canada

[sonicx]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1119954631626_33/?hub=TopStories

celebrate.

:toast::toast::toast:

[JerseygirlCT]

1. Great news!!! Thanks for alerting us. Truly.

The tide is turning, and though we'll be among the last, it WILL happen even here.

And our kids will think: how weird that this was a contentious issue!

[GCP]

46. The way this country is going, I'd say it's never going to happen here

This has got to be one of the most reactionary countries in the world. We'll be among the few holdouts which will include all the Muslim countries - kind of ironic, that!

[JerseygirlCT]

48. I'm absolutely convinced it will

I listen to my son (teenager) and his friends, and it's a given with them. Homosexuality is no big deal, any more than hair color or music preferences -- just another part of what makes a person a person in their minds.

They did a few polls in my son's civic class, and except for a couple of hard-core rw hold-outs, the class thought marriage rights ought to be extended equally, regardless of orientation.

It will happen. The reactionaries will be old and gone and this will seem like ancient history.

[TaleWgnDg]

54. No. Same-sex marriage is NOT legal in Canada . . . yet!

.
Again, same-sex marriage in not legal in all Canada's provinces and territories . . . yet! Why is this so? Because further action is necessary in Canada's Senate and then it must receive Royal Assent before becoming Canadian law.

The OP (sonicx) in this DU thread has an erroneous headline post. The headline post should not read "Gay Marriage is now officially legal in all of Canada" because it is incorrect.

This error should also be corrected (or removed) from DU's homepage. Frankly, it looks mighty dumb on DU's homepage.

See, e.g.,

1.) "June 28, 2005 - Same-sex marriage was approved by Canada's House of Commons today in a vote of 158 in favour of equality and 133 against." http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/

2.) "Ottawa, Jun. 29 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - Canada's Liberal government on Tuesday evening passed, without significant amendment, the third and final reading of its same-sex marriage bill, C-38, by a vote of 158-133.

"Canada now joins the Netherlands and Belgium as the only three countries in the world to have legalized a radical redefinition of the institution of marriage. The bill must still be passed by the Senate and then receive Royal Assent before being promulgated into Canadian law. The Liberal-dominated Senate is expected to swiftly pass the law." http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=38115

Therefore, same-sex marriage is not "now officially legal in all of Canada" and will not be legally viable until further action is taken. More than likely nothing will impede that further action to legalize gay marriage throughout Canada; however, until its done, the OP in this DU post is dead wrong.








.

[iverglas]

56. sorry, you're WRONG

The federal government has jurisdiction over "marriage". The provinces have jurisdiction over "the solemnization of marriage in the province".

Same-sex marriage IS legal in all provinces and territories. A REFUSAL by any provincial or territorial government to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL, as it has been held to be by every provincial/territorial appellate/supreme court that has heard and decided the issue. The REFUSAL to issue marriage licences is what would be "illegal".

This is what Bill C-38 says:

2. Marriage, for civil purposes, is the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others.

This does NOT mean that marriage was not ALREADY the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others -- for one thing, there was never any law in Canada that said that is WASN'T, not that it would have mattered if there was; that law would have been UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

It's unfortunate that you have been so adamant in these assertions, which simply are not correct.

I would also hate to think that you have misunderstood the nature of the process that comes after third reading of the bill in the House of Commons (what happened this week).

Bill C-43, one of the govt's two budget bills -- what some opposition parties had tried to bring the govt down over -- was passed by the House of Commons on June 16; its passage by the Senate was reported to the Commons during debate on the same-sex marriage bill, on June 28:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/38/1/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/124_2005-06-28/HAN124-E.htm#SOB-1377888
and the signifying of royal assent was reported on the same day:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/38/1/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/124_2005-06-28/HAN124-E.htm#OOB-1378100
(Those are links to specific portions of Hansard for June 28; the entire proceedings for that day, including the debate on the same-sex marriage bill, can be read there, for anyone interested.)



Here's an updated comprehensive discussion of the bill:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/bills_ls.asp?Parl=38&Ses=1&ls=c38
Excerpt, with emphasis added:

There has always been a paucity of federal legislation relating to marriage. In the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act – the sole statute currently in effect under Parliament’s section 91(26) authority over marriage – two substantive provisions codify prohibited degrees of “relatedness” or consanguinity. A third section specifies that the Act “contains all of the prohibitions in law against marriage by reason of the parties being related.” Marriage itself is not defined.

Provincial and territorial “solemnization of marriage” statutes are concerned primarily with conditions precedent to marriage of a ceremonial nature such as the issuance of licences, the publication of banns, the qualifications of celebrants and similar “formal” rules. On occasion, the courts have sanctioned other provincial rules less clearly associated with the marriage ceremony, leading to some concern that, in the absence of national standards, requirements for entering into a valid marriage would become a matter of concurrent jurisdiction. According to the more widely held view, although Parliament has not, in the past, fully “exercised its jurisdiction to set out explicit criteria regarding the capacity to marry … <a>ny attempt by the provinces to do so would likely be unconstitutional and of no force and effect.”

... 2. 2001-2005

Over this period, 11 of 12 provincial and territorial courts to have considered the Charter challenges of gay and lesbian couples have invalidated the traditional common-law opposite-sex definition of marriage and replaced it by a redefinition based on equality rights grounds under section 15 of the Charter. Only the British Columbia Supreme Court, in October 2001, dismissed a challenge to the province’s refusal to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples. In May 2003, the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned this ruling. ...

[SoCalDem]

55. Good news, but you Canadians have always had benefits

we can only dream of, "down south of the border"..

Social security benefits (the REAL reason it will be hard to 'legalize' it here) have never really been much of an issue for you, and medical benefits are automatic for everyone..married, gay, straight..whatever..


findies couch their 'arguments' as societal and religious, but it always comes down to money in the end.

Lots of gay people pay into SS for a lifetime, and if they die, NO ONE gets survivor benefits (unless they have minor children).. If, all of a sudden, they had the right to marry, there would be a lot of "free money" that the congress would not get to steal.

[dolo amber]

2. That's fucking excellent

:woohoo: :party: :toast: :bounce:

(You should also post this in the Lounge...I'm afraid it might get lost in here tonight. ;))

[IdaBriggs]

3. Yeah! Three Cheers! Woo Hoo! Yeah!!! nt

[fishwax]

4. Congrats to Canada!

:toast:

[cynatnite]

5. Excellent!

:toast: :headbang:

[RevCheesehead]

6. Congratulations, Canada!

We are so proud of you! :thumbsup:

[im10ashus]

7. WOO HOO!

:toast:
:toast:
:toast:
:toast:
:toast:

[LibertyorDeath]

8. A Great Day !!

[Misunderestimator]

9. Yes! Congratulations to all the progressives in Canada!!!

:yourock:

[orpupilofnature57]

10. Let's run all of Canada, for Pres in 2008, our interest's would be safe!

[GOPisEvil]

11. Once again, our neighbors to the north prove themselves more civilized.

We should be ashamed that we continue to have entire 2nd classes of citizens.

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. As it should be...and hopefully soon will be...the world over.

:toast: To Canada, for acknowledging love in its many forms.

[elcondor]

13. Congrats to Canada!

Happy news to your Southern neighbor still angered by her "dear leader's" speech ... :toast: :hiya: :toast:

[BamaLefty]

14. Finally

Think about it, I am a 17 y/o Christian straight male in rural Alabama...

if I can see it, why can't RW'ers? Approving the second class citizenship of people because of their sexual orientation doesn't fly with me. :(

[sonicx]

15. .

:toast:

[Endangered Specie]

16. Nice to get some GOOD news after today

:) :) :) :) :)

[Nothing Without Hope]

17. All right, Canada!!!!

:toast: :applause: :woohoo:

[Nothing Without Hope]

18. Spain looks to be on the way to this too, despite massive protests

driven by the Church:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221x12938

Anybody hear an update yet?

[SW FL Dem]

19. Wonderful News!!

If only our country could be as understanding :(

[arwalden]

20. Out-STANDING!!! Congratulations Canada!!

I wish our country wasn't as intellectually backward and socially retarded as it is.

[HamiltonHabs32]

21. yea for us....

Im not gay, but i'm happy for this decision.

I look forward to attending lesbian weddings.

/double the bridesmaids

[Gelliebeans]

22. woo hoo Canada

:toast: :toast: :toast:

[johnaries]

23. I salute our brothers to the north!

Do you mind exporting some reason and common sense down here?

[really annoyed]

24. Oh Canada!

Very cool!

:toast:

[Maraya1969]

25. God Bless Canada!!!!!!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :hug: :hug: :hug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :pals: :pals: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[derby378]

26. Wow.

You showed Uncle Sam up big time. But then again, Canada is one of the few nations to actually defeat American forces during wartime. So I gotta hand it to ya!

[RevolutionStartsNow]

27. Wow, Canada rocks!

That is so wonderful to see. I love progress.

[MuseRider]

28. Congratulations to all of Canada!

You all ROCK!

I am so happy to hear this news. Equality, what a great idea!

:toast:

[phylny]

29. Here's a dumb question (and I think I already know the answer)

but what happens if a couple is legally married in Canada, and then comes to the US to live. Is the US government (and companies within the US) legally obliged to recognize this marriage?

Thanks for the help in clarifying. I am wondering if this is a way for committed couples to be recognized as married here.

[whirlygigspin]

30. 21 smiley salute to Canada!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

:pals: :headbang: :yourock: :pals: :headbang: :yourock: :pals:

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

[MGKrebs]

31. Alas. If only Canada was in the Caribbean...

I'd be there tomorrow!

[Bill McBlueState]

47. windsor

Hey, it's supposed to be 90F and mostly sunny in Windsor today. Not too bad.

[TrogL]

32. Thanks to everyone who did their part

It was a group effort involving a lot of people, particularly EGALE.

[jakefrep]

33. Take that Dr James Dobson!

Focus on your own damn family!

[BattyDem]

34. Dear Canada ...

Will you adopt us? :-)



!!!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

:toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce:

:applause: :yourock: :applause: :yourock: :applause: :yourock: :applause: :yourock: :applause:

[leesa]

35. It must be nice to live in a rational country. Sighhh!

[baron j]

36. Finally, a country acting like a mature, rational, fair adult.

How refreshing! If only we could have the same in the so-called "Home of the Free".

[backwoodsmurder]

37. Awwww

I love my country.

[newyawker99]

44. Hi backwoodsmurder!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[morgan2]

38. so thats how a country works that isnt the focal point

of the modern oligarchy.

[Broken_Hero]

39. It reminds me...

Of when the USA was killing off the Native Americans. The one place that many native americans fled was to Canada, because Canada didn't have such a KILL KILL attitude that the usa had. Many tribes went up north to canada to avoid being killed/persecution. Its ironic, that now the Gays might be walking similiar paths. I told my wife the other day, Gay/Lesbian is the Civil Rights issue of our generation..it is.

[sphincter]

40. Good move

The third nation in the world, after Netherlands and Belgium, to lift the ban on gay marriges.

I just want to hear what O'Reilly, Rush and Rove has to say about this.

Gannon must secretly be snickering though...

[rucky]

41. Canada Rocks! n/t

[elare]

42. bump n/t

[bornagainhuman]

43. Maybe this form of accepted bigotry is finally coming to an end

[newyawker99]

45. Hi bornagainhuman!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[melissinha]

49. Wohoo, thanks for the good news!

See? I like that Canada....

[LittleOne]

50. I am so proud to be a Canadian...

Happy, happy, happy....

[evolved Anarchopunk]

51. Yaaaaay! Woo hoo!

Congrats to all the soon to be recognized couples!

Celebrate indeed ! :toast:

[myrna minx]

52. Yay! Thank you for respecting human rights, Canada.

Way to go! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[wryter2000]

53. Oh, Canada!

Way to go, Canada. :yourock: