Jan 12, 2021 - We were planning to celebrate our eleventh wedding anniversary this Saturday with a little champagne and some welcome "us" time. Just the two of us relaxing and enjoying the welcome reality of getting to mark our anniversary like any other married couple in a country where same-sex marriage has become a non-issue. Then we read the Globe and Mail.
June
17 , 2008 - As gay and lesbians celebrated marriage in California,
Norway's upper house voted in favour of gay marriage today. The
23-17 vote comes after the country's lower house voted 84-41 for
gender neutral legislation in parliament last week. The new legislation
becomes effective January 1, 2009. Norway becomes the first Scandinavian
country to have equal marriage. Will Sweden soon follow Norway's
example?
May
18, 2008 - We were enjoying the goods and goals of marriage in Canada,
taking a break as gay marriage advocates, when we received news
on May 15th that the California Supreme Court released a long-awaited
decision in favour of same-sex marriage. We immediately thought
of our friends and supporters in California and across the United
States who have been fighting for years to see their dreams come
true.
Sept
28 , 2007 - We first met Ontario Conservative Party leader John
Tory in 2004. We were pleased to learn he supported gay marriage
but his stance attracted criticism from Christian extremists. Perhaps
Tory thought if he agreed to make faith-based funding a part of
his plan to change education in Ontario, he could painlessly make
ammends with party extremists. Instead, he has renewed calls for
one publc school system.
Sept
24 , 2007 - On September 17, media reports began appearing about
a Halifax lesbian couple and their human rights complaint over the
way Nova Scotia registers the birth of a child. Three days after
the couple made their case known to the public, the government announced
that the issue had been resolved. The government knew of this problem
for over six months. Gay marriage is 3 years old. What took so long?
Sept
21 , 2007 - On Sept. 12 Statistics Canada released new census data
collected in 2006: Family Portrait: Continuity and Change in
Canadian Families and Households in 2006. For the first time,
married and common-law same-sex couples were included in the data.
We believe the most important statistic is the number of same-sex
couples denied access to marriage: zero.
Sept
20 , 2007 - Now
that gay marriage is available across Canada, we are taking pleasure
in lending support to others where we can. We are proud to participate
in the CIBC Pride Network's initiatives in support of diversity.
This past weekend we joined fellow members of the Network in the
Toronto AIDS Walk for Life and in the Peterborough Pride parade.
Read a report by Elizabeth Reynolds.
July
12 , 2007 - Gay marriage advocates Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell
are asking supporters of same-sex marriage to join them in the AIDS
Walk for Life, a national campaign. The couple will walk on Sunday,
September 16th, 2007, to benefit the AIDS Committee of Toronto.
Please get involved as a walker, or consider making an online donation
now. Celebrate freedoms and rights by giving back to communities.
Read
reviews of our book Just Married: Gay Marriage and the Expansion
of Human Rights. Information about the French edition Gays,
gays, marions-nous!, a schedule of appearances and activities
are listed here
On
June 10, 2003, the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled that it was
discriminatory to deny same-sex couples access to marriage. It was
a decision that recognized, retroactively, the marriages of Kevin
Bourassa & Joe Varnell and Anne & Elaine Vautour, solemnized
by the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto on January 14, 2001.
The court compelled the province of Ontario to issue civil marriage
licenses to same-sex couples effective that day.
June
28, 2005 - Gay marriage was approved by Canada's House of Commons
todaywith 158 MPs in favour & 133 against. The definition of
marriage was changed by Ontario's Court of Appeal in 2003, but as
Parliament acts we recall some memories along the way.
July
19, 2005 - Same-sex marriage is the law of the land. Following this
historic moment, the world did not stand still. There were no celebratory
fireworks. The world simply turned on - and that's the way it should
be.
