Posted on 06/28/2005 7:19:43 PM PDT by Heartofsong83
Same-sex marriage bill passes in Commons CTV.ca News Staff
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.
With a report from CTV News
I don't think I can say anything other than @#$*!!! I am appalled at this ruling. So much for the sanctity of marriage and the witnessing of such an event by our Father in heaven. May he bless those who stuck to their guns and tried to keep this bill from passing.
TRIBULATION!!!!!
Gee..... wouldn't it be grand if the gays in the lower 48 streamed north like draft dodgers in the 60s and early 70s?
**
I like that scenario.
we're not dumping em, you're govt is sending a clarion call out INVITING THEM
Judicial activism. The homofascists took the cases to the Supreme Court and they ignored the wishes of the majority of the people.
PING!!!
The Dominion of Canada was put down like a diseased animal by an unholy alliance of lefties from the U.S. and U.K., the petit-fascist revanchistes of Quebec, and the anti-American Establishment heirs of the Family Compact in UEL-fetishising Ontario.
To revive our Dominion, we must drive a stake through the heart of the present perverted Trudeaupian regime, and return to the original terms of Confederation, giving all usurped powers back to the provinces, and restoring Parliamentary supremacy over the courts.
Otherwise, the country will crack up within a decade, imho. I live in the once magnificently prosperous B.C., but Alberta is only a morning's drive away. ;^)
BNA ACT. It's a start.
What made it worse is that the leftists who streamed North were more than willing to take advantage of the fact that Canadians were open, friendly and willing to give the new arrivals the benefit of the doubt.
Canadians have a reputation as sort of being pushovers. That's not wholly true- Canadians were used to living in a society where people weren't that pushy and only asked the society to accomodate them when absolutely necessary. The draft-dodgers and communists from the US used that to their advantage to change Canadian society around them.
The BNA Act and the Red Ensign - a battle flag.
It's all we ever needed.
Thats common but very Queer..
Saskatchewan and Manitoba are both somewhat economically depressed due to their having socialist (NDP) governments. These same gov'ts have passed SSM legislation or a provincial court has enabled SSM.
what's happening in Ottawa is nothing more than a public gong show.
The FED define it BUT it's up to the province to enforce.
The province didn't even bother with the gun registry. One thing different in Canada is that you'll have more provincial vs federal brawl than in the US.
I`ll billet whatever troops I can. Small condo in mid-town Toronto, but whatever can help, eh!
Like your tagline, LOL.
Sorry to rejoyce in the thought that our homosexuals would migrate north to take advantage of your (Canada"s) kindness and multiculturism. But wouldn't it be better to have this thing trash one country rather than two? In other words, if Canada wants to pass laws like this maybe they should deal with the consequences. Or just maybe they (led by conservatives like yourself) will come to their senses and realize that no right minded society wants this much multiculturism, (and this is just the start as there are many perversions yet to declare their "born this way" status). I am deeply sorry for Canada, but this is something they are doing to themselves with a great deal of thought. Or maybe because they took in too many of our war protestors in the '60s?
"My point is simply that the mostly affluent, well educated and socially well connected former U.S. reds who came up here in the 60's and 70's have done untold harm across the whole spectrum of Canadian society."
Didn't your country invite them? I seem to remember that in the time you speak of, Canada opened it's arms to any and all draft evaders, war protesters and other misfits of the leftist variety. We, the US, didn't evict or deport them, you rolled out the red carpet and now those actions are coming home to roost.
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