Vigilance
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. -- Wendell Phillips
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NEWS
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Canada Moves Toward Legalizing Gay Marriage
So, whaddya make of this? Even as the United States rushes to embrace intolerance, our next-door neighbor is going the other way:
The web site where I found this story, a high-traffic site called MetaFilter, titled this story: It's like America, only with freedom!. Ouch.
It sounds like, now that this is out of the way, it will probably pass in Parliament:
This has been one of those issues where you just shake your head and wonder -- why does anyone care? If two people want to grow old together, sit in Laz-E-Boys in front of the TV and argue about whose turn it is to walk the dog -- how can that be "evil"? How can it not be a good thing? How can two guys marrying each other, or two women, "threaten" anybody else's marriage? Why would a gay couple with kids make some other family any less meaningful? How can people in Canada be so different from people in the US?
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The Supreme Court of Canada gave the federal government the go-ahead Thursday to legalize gay marriage, but stopped short of saying that this was required by the Constitution.
Ottawa had hoped the court would require it to allow gay marriage across Canada, making it politically easier to push draft legislation through Parliament. The high court refused to give an opinion on this issue.
Instead, it declared only that the government had the authority to legislate on marriage and that its proposed definition of marriage as "the lawful union of two persons" would not violate the Constitution. Canada's high court clears way for gay marriage
The web site where I found this story, a high-traffic site called MetaFilter, titled this story: It's like America, only with freedom!. Ouch.
It sounds like, now that this is out of the way, it will probably pass in Parliament:
Canada would join Belgium and the Netherlands in allowing gay marriage if the government acts to make it legal nationwide. To pass in the House of Commons, the legislation needs the approval of about 44 of the 95 Liberal backbench members of Parliament to obtain a 155-vote majority.
One top Liberal predicted the legislation should pass easily after its introduction, likely early next year. It already has the support of the 38-member Liberal cabinet and virtually all the 54 Bloc Quebecois and 19 New Democrat MPs. Canadian Court Approves Same-Sex Marriage
This has been one of those issues where you just shake your head and wonder -- why does anyone care? If two people want to grow old together, sit in Laz-E-Boys in front of the TV and argue about whose turn it is to walk the dog -- how can that be "evil"? How can it not be a good thing? How can two guys marrying each other, or two women, "threaten" anybody else's marriage? Why would a gay couple with kids make some other family any less meaningful? How can people in Canada be so different from people in the US?
