last night the house of commons voted to adopt a piece of legislation that allows same-sex marriage across all of canada.... this make canada the 3rd country in the world to legalize gay marriage (belgium and the netherlands are the other two). the senate still needs to approve the bill to make this law - but it is anticipated to easily pass within days. you can read about it here and here and here and on just about every news site across the world.
leading up to this controversial vote, most of the courts of the provinces already overturned the ban against same-sex marriages and this put pressure on the government to bring the issue to vote federally. i wonder how this is going to play in my home province of alberta - not surprisingly, it's one of the provinces that still did not allow same-sex unions.
rarely (if ever) do i find the need or want to positively quote a prime minister of canada - but i just loved what prime minister martin said last night :
"We are a nation of minorities and in a nation of minorities, it is important that you don't cherry pick rights. A right is a right and that is what this vote tonight is all about," Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said shortly before the vote.
of course the conservatives are promising that they will look at this again if they win the next election - but really, what can he do federally, when 8 of the 10 provinces already allow marriages regardless of the sex of those seeking them.
and continuing in that vein, there is strong opposition to this bill. frankly, i don't understand the opposition. many religious groups are upset and believe that this bill is eroding the 'moral fibre' of our country - but canada's charter of rights allows for freedom of religion and no church will ever be forced to perform one of these ceremonies. i guess i really just don't know how two people who love each other and wanting to get married is a question of morality.
but for today - i am very happy to be living in a country that seeks to limit restrictions rather that entrench them.
[music | david usher, "st. lawrence river"]
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an update to this post!
today, spain also voted to allow gay marriages. and this is spain we're talking people. probably one of the most catholic nations in the world....
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/06/29/1110702-ap.html
this is a quote from the spanish prime minister : "We were not the first, but I am sure we will not be the last," he told the chamber. "After us will come many other countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality."
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