Ontario Court legalises same-sex marriages

[k hanly <khanly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So will Bush get mad again? First no support for illegal wars, then
decriminalising possession of marijuana, now same-sex mariages! The Taliban
and Ashcroft will be after us.

Cheers, Ken Hanly

http://www.torontosun.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2003/06/11/108334.html



Wed, June 11, 2003


Altering the alter

Feds ponder quick appeal as Ontario court OKs gay marriages

By KATHLEEN HARRIS AND SAM PAZZANO, TORONTO SUN



Federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon will decide as early as today if the
federal government will appeal a landmark Ontario court ruling that gives
gays and lesbians the legal right to tie the knot. Ontario's Court of Appeal
yesterday extended the right to marry to same-sex couples in a 61-page
written decision that effectively deems Canadian law on traditional marriage
unconstitutional.

"The existing common-law definition of marriage violates the couple's
equality rights on the basis of sexual orientation under (the Charter)," the
ruling stated.

"Allowing same-sex couples to marry does not result in a corresponding
deprivation to opposite-sex couples. Same-sex couples have been completely
excluded from a fundamental societal institution."

Under intense pressure from both sides of the controversial debate, Cauchon
called same-sex marriage a serious social issue that needs a "national
solution."

"The effect of the judgment is immediate," he said. "We are fully aware of
that. That is why the government must act quickly."

Calling the Ontario appeals court ruling a "fundamental error of
jurisdiction," Canadian Alliance MP Vic Toews urged Cauchon to appeal to the
Supreme Court. Parliament must make important decisions such as the legal
definition of marriage, not the courts, he said.

"Mr. Cauchon is under an obligation to appeal this decision immediately,"
Toews said. "He has to defend not only the institution of marriage, but also
the institution of Parliament."

NDP MP Svend Robinson, an advocate for gay rights, called on Prime Minister
Jean Chretien to leave a "legacy of respect and equality" by rejecting an
appeal.

The Commons justice committee will hold a special meeting today to table a
recommendation on the appeal to Cauchon. All party members have been
conducting exhaustive cross-country consultations for months on same-sex
marriage, but one Liberal MP said Ontario's legal ruling makes the
committee's work "moot."

Ontario is the first jurisdiction in the world where a court decision --
instead of legislation -- has legalized gay and lesbian marriages, said
Martha McCarthy, who argued the case for seven homosexual couples along with
Joanna Radbord.

McCarthy broke down as she described the impact of the decision at a press
conference.

Two hours after the decision was released, Toronto Crown attorney Michael
Leshner, 55, and his partner Michael Stark, 45, picked up their marriage
licence.

"We're gettin' married," a jubilant Leshner sang with his partner, Michael
Stark, outside the Toronto courtroom.

Leshner proposed to his longtime partner a year ago when a Divisional Court
ruled that the opposite-sex requirement of marriage violated equality
Charter rights.

REDEFINE MARRIAGE

The ruling gave Parliament a two-year deadline to redefine marriage as a
union of "two persons" instead of a man and woman as common law described
it.

Ottawa was challenging that decision and lost. The divisional court's
deadline of July 2004 was erased by yesterday's ruling, immediately
legalizing gay and lesbian marriages.

Premier Ernie Eves said he has no personal opposition to gays and lesbians
getting married, but the court has decided that marriage is under federal
jurisdiction.

"I think that what two people do in a relationship with each other is really
none of anybody else's business," Eves said, adding that there may be other
issues --fiscal or involving children -- that have to be resolved.