Posted on 07/12/2002 8:55:25 AM PDT by jalisco555
The Ontario Supreme Court said in a landmark decision Friday that same-sex marriages between couples must be registered by the provincial government.
A three-judge panel made the ruling Friday morning in the decision, expected to have ramifications across Canada.
In January, 2001, Rev. Brent Hawkes of the Metropolitan Community Church married two gay couples in front of an audience of 600 people.
However, the city refused to register the two marriages.
Friday's court ruling as a result of a challenge by the Metropolitan Community Church was joined with another constitutional challenge by eight gay couples who have been unable to obtain marriage licences despite going through religious marriage ceremonies.
The couples asked the court to find that governments' refusal to register their marriages violates several provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including equality rights, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and religion and security of the person, defined as psychological well-being.
Gay couples say they desire to have their marriages made official by certificates.
"We're no longer second-class citizens in this country and the time has come for change. My relationship is validated and nobody can say we're not a real family any more," said Joe Varnell, who sued the provincial government for the right to marry another man after the decision.
As soon as the decision was released, Mr. Varnell and his partner, Kevin Bourassa, shared a celebratory kiss and cried tears of joy.
Mr. Hawkes is expected to speak to the decision around noon along with a number of gay and lesbian rights groups and his lead counsel.
First honest statement I heard a gay make on this topic. This isn't about health benefits or getting into hospitals when a loved one is sick, this is about validation.
However, the state doesn't validate relationships, society does. So far most of society isn't going to give them what they desire and they will still be miserable.
This "man of God" must have got his licence off the internet for a $1. They don't require knowledge of the Bible, just a valid credit card number.
The couples asked the court to find that governments' refusal to register their marriages violates several provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including equality rights, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and religion and security of the person, defined as psychological well-being.
And asked that the Christian section ( who has to live there amoung the sodomites, i'e., Soddam and Gamorrah ), of the city become null and void.
Mr. Hawkes is expected to speak to the decision around noon along with a number of gay and lesbian rights groups and his lead counsel.
If this passes, let's hope all the U.S. sodomites move to Canada. America would be surely blessed.
Oh. He got his licence from the dark side of the internet. LOL
Good point. I'm coming to the realization that validation is objective numero uno for gays in general. It seems they need a thousand people screaming at them a thousand times a day: "You are OK!". I suspect it has to do partly with an underdeveloped maturity and partly with the violence you do to your own conscience getting involved in that stuff.
There is a profound psychological weakness in homosexual men, and it is extremely unbecoming. I didn't hear the martyrs whining about being "validated" by the Roman Empire.
That's interesting. What happens if, say, a Saudi and his four wives come to America? Can wives 2-4 declare themselves single? Can they petition a court to do so? What happens to their children?
Apparently and sadly, it does now.
They're just getting set up for the reign of the anti-Christ. Nothing to worry about. Become PC- think 666.
I know a lot of people here have a serious problem with gay "marriage" (and yes, I too wish we could find another term for it but who needs to play word games) and frankly, until I got to know these two I was less than comfortable with it as well. But you know something? It doesn't really affect my life or my family in the least, and if you all think about it, it really doesn't effect yours either. I know that some will feel this is a blow to "family values" and I respect the opinion, but think about it: whose family values? My family values were learned from my parents; namely, be a good person, work hard, respect others for who they are, believe in G-d and try to give something back to your community. I can't see how anything anyone else does should in any way counteract that.
This may be hard for people whose only exposure to gays has been pictures of guys dressed up like the Queen at a Pride parade, or some hideous left-wing activist that, face it, if they weren't gay would be trying to screw up society from some other front, but not all gays want to have a promiscuous lifestyle and get in people's faces. It appears some, and I know this to be the case with Joe and Kevin, had "family values" of committment and respect instilled in them by their families.
As for the Rev. Hawkes, my understanding is that he's been in a committed relationship for something like 15 years and has made church a place of worship and support for many who felt they had nowhere to go but felt a strong need to stay close to the church. He was also a major player in the process of turning Toronto's Pride Week into a non-political and relatively tame outdoor street party that attracts not only gays from across North America but also a huge cross section of Toronto's population. Hey, we get a short summer up here and will take just about any excuse to party outside,a nd Pride Week is now possibly the largest festival in town, matched probably only by our Carribean Caribana festival. Oh, and if you like gospel music you have to hear Hawkes' church choir...they can bring tears to your eyes.
Anyway, not to seem to be poking anyone in the eye, but I'm glad for Joe and Kevin. They've wanted to put this challenge behind them and just enjoy their lives together and I wish them all the best. Not the way I live, but hey, that's them and they deserve happiness too, IMHO.
Cherres for a good weekend, all!
They can "worship" all they want, but until they repent and change, God is not hearing them.
Sodomites confuse natural love and sex. They genuinely lust for one another. Read Romans 1.
Cheers.
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