Despite fierce opposition from the opposition Conservative Party and the Roman Catholic Church, the federal bill proposed by the liberal government in February of this year and quickly approved by the House of Commons and the Senate officially came into force after being signed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The idea of adopting a law on same-sex marriage had been discussed in Canada for more than a year. Moreover, heated debates at the national level did not prevent the governments of eight of the ten Canadian provinces and two of the three territories from allowing homosexuals and lesbians to officially become spouses in the last two years. The first territories where gay couples could register were Ontario and British Columbia in 2003. Thus, a paradoxical situation arose when same-sex marriages were banned at the federal level, but two-thirds of the country's provinces had legislation allowing the creation of such families.
Without a doubt, a major role in the fairly rapid and successful advancement of the bill was played by the personal support of the document by Prime Minister Paul Martin, who, by the way, is a Catholic. In recent months, he has repeatedly stated that his government is in favor of “all Canadian citizens having equal rights and responsibilities, regardless of their sexual orientation.” Most of his compatriots also support him. Thus, according to the latest public opinion poll conducted by The Globe and Mail, 55% of Canadians consider the new law fair and only 39% oppose it.
Alex Munter, press secretary for the national organization “Canadians for Equal Marriage,” which spoke out during the debates in support of the bill, enthusiastically welcomed the coming into force of the new document, calling it historic: “This is a powerful confirmation to the whole world that Canada is an open and democratic society in which everyone has equal rights.”
The delight over the adoption of this law is, of course, not shared in conservative circles in the country. Canadian Tory leader Stephen Harper said that if he is elected prime minister of the country, he will “definitely return to this issue.” And right-wing Senator Gerry Herman, in an interview with the CBC television company, said that “if we do not stop this, the next step will be euthanasia and the legalization of drugs.”
Representatives of various Canadian churches also expressed “serious concern” that they would now “have to bless same-sex unions.” True, in Ottawa they emphasized that the law speaks only about civil marriage and “the clergy is not obliged to conduct religious ceremonies for homosexual couples.” Nevertheless, Charles McVety, press secretary of the public organization “Defence of the Canadian Family” and president of the “College of Christians of Canada,” said that “it is very sad that the government interferes in the affairs of the church, thus violating the fundamental principle of the separation of state and church.” He confirmed that he and groups like his will do everything to ensure that those legislators who supported the “scandalous bill” are not elected in the next national elections. “The new parliament will review the law, and common sense will ultimately prevail,” McVety added.
As for the neighboring United States, same-sex marriage is legalized only in Massachusetts. In Vermont and Connecticut, only civil unions of homosexual couples are permitted. But the problem is that after official registration in the three states of New England, American gay couples are not considered legal spouses in the rest of the United States.
George Bush has repeatedly stated, especially during the last presidential election campaign, that he opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage, even proposing to introduce an amendment to the American Constitution that would recognize only the union between a man and a woman. But due to opposition from the Democratic Party, this White House initiative remains in limbo. In addition, in most US states, representatives of sexual minorities are still prohibited from adopting children.