Gay couples win right to marry in Quebec
Mar. 20th, 2004 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcMONTREAL - Same-sex couples in Quebec celebrated Friday as the province’s top court ruled that they have the right to marry. The Quebec Court of Appeal’s decision matches similar rulings from Ontario and British Columbia.
“This is wonderful,” said Michael Hendricks, one of two men at the centre of the legal case. He and longtime partner René Leboeuf sought the right to get married.
“The floodgates seem to be open and it looks like Canada is going to become the first North American country that has equal marriage,” Hendricks told a news conference.
Hendricks and Leboeuf hope to wed at the Montreal courthouse next month. They’ve been together for 31 years.
A lower court ruled in the couple’s favour in 2002, but the decision was challenged by some religious groups. On Friday, Quebec’s Court of Appeal upheld the original ruling, saying the traditional definition of marriage is discriminatory and unjustified. In 2002, the Quebec Superior Court ruled that restricting marriage to a union between a man and a woman was unjustified under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Prime Minister Paul Martin has vowed to introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriages, but he’s waiting for the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the constitutionality of gay marriage.
As of today, effectively 75% of Canadians have access to same sex marriage in their home province!
[Pinched from the CBC News website]
“This is wonderful,” said Michael Hendricks, one of two men at the centre of the legal case. He and longtime partner René Leboeuf sought the right to get married.
“The floodgates seem to be open and it looks like Canada is going to become the first North American country that has equal marriage,” Hendricks told a news conference.
Hendricks and Leboeuf hope to wed at the Montreal courthouse next month. They’ve been together for 31 years.
A lower court ruled in the couple’s favour in 2002, but the decision was challenged by some religious groups. On Friday, Quebec’s Court of Appeal upheld the original ruling, saying the traditional definition of marriage is discriminatory and unjustified. In 2002, the Quebec Superior Court ruled that restricting marriage to a union between a man and a woman was unjustified under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Prime Minister Paul Martin has vowed to introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriages, but he’s waiting for the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the constitutionality of gay marriage.
As of today, effectively 75% of Canadians have access to same sex marriage in their home province!
[Pinched from the CBC News website]
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-19 04:24 pm (UTC)*i wonder where latham stands on this issue*
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Date: 2004-03-19 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-19 05:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-19 07:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-19 11:21 pm (UTC)