Breaking News in Canada: Same-sex marriage bill passes in Commons

Canada will become the third country in the world to officially sanction same-sex marriage.

In a 158 to 133 vote, the House of Commons adopted Bill C-38 -- the controversial legislation legalizing same-sex marriage from coast to coast -- on its third and final reading Tuesday night.

The Liberals had the support of almost all New Democrat and Bloc Quebecois MPs for the vote.

The bill will become official once it receives approval in the Senate. An earlier Conservative motion to send the bill back to committee was voted down 158 to 127.

The decision marks the end of a long and divisive debate, with fierce opposition coming from Conservative members, religious groups, and even members of the Liberal Party. Opponents are vowing to keep up the fight against the C-38, which changes the traditional definition of marriage to one that includes same-sex couples.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is promising that he won't let the issue rest; he says he'll revisit the new law if he becomes the next prime minister. He also repeated Tuesday his claim that the law lacks legitimacy because it passed with the support of the separatist Bloc party.

"I don't think Canadians are going to accept as a final word a decision taken by only a minority of federalist MPs," he said. But Harper didn't specify how he would address the issue if the Tories were to form the next government.

Liberal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said Harper is going to have to come clean and acknowledge that he would have to invoke the Constitution's notwithstanding clause to override the new law.

"They're going to have to acknowledge that they want to override the (Charter of Rights), override constitutional-law decisions in nine jurisdictions in this country; override a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada; override the rule of law in this country," Cotler said.

The clause is available to provinces to override federal laws that intrude on provincial jurisdiction.

But almost every provincial and territorial government has already legalized same-sex marriage; and the new legislation will ensure that the four "hold-out" jurisdictions that yet haven't -- Alberta, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories -- now must.

"It's an historic moment, it's about equality for gays and lesbians," said NDP MP Libby Davies.

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, who is "strongly opposed" to the bill on moral grounds, acknowledged Tuesday that little can be done to stop same-sex marriages in his province.

"Since this is federal legislation, to use the notwithstanding clause as contained in our own Marriage Act would be frivolous," Klein told reporters in Calgary. "It wouldn't stand up in any court of law. So there are some other options that we would have to consider."

Klein said although some members of his caucus are threatening to use every legal weapon at their disposal to get around the legislation, "there are no legal weapons; there's nothing left in the arsenal."

As expected, about 30 Liberal MPs voted against the measure tonight. Martin declared it a free vote for backbench MPs, but cabinet ministers were under orders to vote in favour of the bill.

On Tuesday, a junior cabinet minister chose to resign and return to the backbenches rather than vote in favour of same sex marriage.

Joe Comuzzi, the minister of state for economic development in northern Ontario, informed the prime minister of his decision in the early morning.

"I promised faithfully to the people of Thunder Bay-Superior North that I would defend the traditional definition of marriage," he explained to reporters on Parliament Hill.

This has also really made me support Quebec separatism as well.

One more nail in the coffin.
I use to have an emotional attachment to a unified Canada.
My Grandparents were french-speaking.
Canada I believed was a shining example to the world of how two peoples could get along.
Now....Pttui!! End the foolishness.

We have always been and will always be, two solitudes.
Let it go and let us be if not friends then at least respectful neighbours.

The problem with city versus rural folks seems to be age old.
I think it has something to do with being out of touch with nature,
with genuine spirituality being replaced
with all sorts of gobblety-gook theories and pie-in-the sky idealism,
and power-hungry leftist politicians pandering to the basest instincts.

Bah...I'm in a foul mood this hot and sticky night.
Marriage in Canada no longer exists.

It's a very sad day, indeed. God only knows what will become of this country in one or two generations. This was the essential step that will give legitimacy to the persecution of Christians. Look at the courts here today:

Last year, when Parliament was debating former MP "Diamond" Svend Robinson's private member's bill—C-250—to add sexual orientation to the list of traits protected against hate speech, many religious organizations warned such a law would limit the right of priests, rabbis and imams to recite their faiths' teachings that homosexuality is a sin. They were scoffed at, and their concerns dismissed as paranoia—especially since the legislation was drafted in a way that appeared to protect religious speech.

Even though the law clearly makes it a criminal offence to "communicate statements in any public place"—presumably including houses of worship—that would "wilfully promote hatred against any identifiable group," the faithful were reassured the bill would never impinge their right to believe or pontificate as they wished. Calgary Herald columnist Naomi Lakritz scoffed at the "Christian fundamentalists" she saw pushing opposition to the legislation. "Nobody will be prosecuted for expressing disapproval of homosexual behaviour," she wrote. "People are free to say that they find such behaviour repulsive. They are free to cite the Bible as much as they like." More telling was her contradictory caveat in the next paragraph, warning that "one's right to freedom of speech ends where another person's right not to be treated as inferior and undesirable because of race, religion or sexual orientation begins." Svend Robinson himself chimed in: "It has been suggested that this bill might in some way threaten freedom of speech or lead to the banning of the Bible or other religious texts. Nothing could be further from the truth."

His bill's purpose? Only to "save lives" threatened by gay-bashing attacks. Similar assurances have been made to quiet concerns that the current same-sex marriage bill will compel churches to marry gay and lesbian couples. More ominously, Ontario's Human Rights Commissioner resently told the committee "it would still be discrimination" for churches and other religious institutions to refuse to marry gays.

Mayor Dianne Haskett of London, Ontario was found her guilty of discrimination, fined $10,000 because she had refused to proclaim a Gay Pride weekend. The court ordered her to proclaim any future Gay Pride events. Haskett, an evangelical Christian, said that proclamations of this kind went against her religious beliefs. She felt that even as mayor she had a right to remain silent on issues with which she didn't agree.

Christian printer Scott Brockie was fined $5,000.00 in 1999 by the Ontario Human Rights Commission because he refused to print blank letterhead and envelopes for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. The Human Rights Commission also billed Brockie $40,000.00 in legal bills for daring to defend himself.

In 2001, while off duty, Chris Kempling entered as a practicing Christian into the burgeoning political and social debate surrounding homosexuality and gay ‘marriage’. He defended the traditional Christian understanding of the social, physical, and moral evils of homosexual behaviour in a letter to the editor to a local newspaper. Kempling was subsequently cited for professional misconduct by the College of Teachers after a panel determined that his writings were discriminatory against homosexuals. He was disciplined with a suspension of his license.

Fred Henry, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary, is being hauled before the Alberta Human Rights Commission for arguing against same-sex marriage in a letter he sent to his flock in January. Bishop Henry's case is being pursued under Alberta's Human Rights Code. But it is not hard to imagine religious speech being chilled across the country.

And this is just in the first few years. I imagine that within a generation, Canadian Catholics will be forced into a situation like China's "Catholic Patriotic Churches"-A stabilizing factor in society, but eviscerated of any power and authority to proclaim the Gospel. Pray for us. Thats all we have left

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.