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NOTE: Rich and
I were married at City Hall in Toronto
on September 10, 2004. You can find the Event Photo listing on the
GayPASG
home page and our wedding
here. John Crowell Campbell
Layton celebrates
third anniversary
of gay marriage in
Canada
Carlye Malchuk,
Canada.com from the Web, June 9, 2006
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(CP PHOTO/Tom Hanson)
New
Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton. |
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TORONTO (CP) - Federal New Democrat
Leader Jack Layton joined gay rights activists Friday in marking the third
anniversary of same-sex marriage in Canada, just one week after Prime Minister
Stephen Harper pledged to revisit the divisive debate this fall.
Layton joined representatives from the lobby group Canadians for Equal Marriage
as well as federal NDP MP Olivia Chow and Liberal MP Belinda Stronach at
Toronto's City Hall to celebrate the milestone.
"You can never take human rights for granted -- once they've been achieved they
have to be fought for over and over again," Layton said.
"To now be celebrating the third anniversary of that historic moment ... is very
exciting to me."
Saturday marks the anniversary of an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that deemed
it unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the opportunity to wed.
After the 2003 ruling, other provinces and territories followed suit.
In late June of last year, the House of Commons passed bill C-38, which changed
the definition of civil marriage to "the lawful union of two persons to the
exclusion of all others" -- allowing same-sex couples to wed.
Harper said last week he is keeping his campaign promise to hold a free vote in
the House of Commons on whether the issue should be revisited.
Joanne McGarry, executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League, said she
hopes at the very least Conservative MP's will support the free vote, if for no
other reason than to keep an election promise.
McGarry said although the majority of Canadians support equal treatment for all
citizens, her group feels "they did not ... want marriage redefined."
But Toronto city councillor Kyle Rae said those who want to take away the right
of gays and lesbians to marry are in the minority.
"It's disconcerting that equality rights or human rights are a Ping-Pong ball
for the extreme right," said Rae, who married his partner in 2003 -- 10 days
after the Ontario ruling came down.
Laurie Arron, national coordinator of Canadians for Equal Marriage, said he
doesn't feel Harper could hope to repeal the existing law without creating a
mess in Canadian courts.
"There's been no harm done to anybody by allowing same-sex couples to marry,"
Arron said.
"Three years on, the equal marriage ship has sailed."
In January, an open letter to Harper, then leader of the Opposition, from 104
university law professors stated the law Harper intended to pass would be
"clearly unconstitutional."
The letter continued to state that any law taking away the right for gay couples
to marry would result in "legal confusion, a lack of uniformity, and
unnecessary, protracted and costly litigation."
Stronach said gay marriage rights are about Canada being a country of respect,
not just tolerance.
"This is really about the kind of country we want to have," she said.
Layton called it "unfortunate" that the issue could be reopened, but pledged to
battle to keep gay marriage legal.
If the prime minister is intent on putting the possibility of debate up to a
free vote, it should be done immediately, Arron said.
For Harper to "go after" gay Canadians like this and then keep them in a state
of uncertainty for months is unfair, he said.
"To have our rights and our lives debated is very difficult," Arron said.
Canadians for Equal Marriage says that since the Ontario ruling, over 10,000 gay
and lesbian couples have legally wed across the country.
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