Gay inmates to tie
the knot in Quebec pen
Phil Couvrette,
canada.com from the Web, October 16, 2007
They'll be joined in matrimony, but
different cell blocks will keep them apart and limit their honeymoon options.
Two gay prison inmates at the federal penitentiary in Cowansville, Que., 60
kilometres southeast of Montreal, will tie the knot in the institution's first
gay marriage on Oct. 29.
It will be Canada's third gay wedding in a federal institution, according to
Corrections Canada, following a 2006 wedding in Ontario and another in Alberta
this year.
"Gay weddings are legal since July 2005 and the first union between same-sex
inmates occurred in November 2006 so it's not frequent," said Jean-Yves Roy, a
spokesman for federal institutions in Quebec.
David Bedard, 22, is serving a 10 year sentence for involuntary manslaughter
while his partner Sony Martin, 26, is serving a life sentence for second-degree
murder and is ineligible for parole before 2020.
"It won't be any different from any civil wedding," said Lucette L'Esperance,
assistant warden at the institution. "They will marry at the chapel before
a Quebec court judge."
The wedding will be the usual 10-minute ceremony, but the two, who currently
live in separate cell blocks, will continue to do so and will get no special
treatment.
"The fact that they are getting married does not grant them any privileges, they
will remain in their respective cell blocks and won't benefit from private
family (conjugal) visits," L'Esperance stressed.
And nothing prevents correctional officials from placing them in separate
prisons, Roy said.
Bedard, in prison since 2006 and Martin, since 2002, will still be able to cross
paths during hours when inmates from different cell blocks get to mingle, such
as during lunch, gym and outdoor activity periods and well as other down time.
L'Esperance said there probably weren't more than two or three weddings of any
type at the Cowansville institution any given year.
While gay weddings between inmates remain rare, the fact they are happening
shows that homosexuals can benefit from the same right as all other citizens,
notes Jean-Claude Bernheim, a spokesman for an inmates rights group.
"It reflects what is happening in society in general, there's a possibility of
getting married -- which wasn't possible before -- and some inmates will take
advantage of this," Bernheim said. "It's a step forward. It confirms
formally that inmates aren't totally excluded from civil life."
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