Read more about Just Married

A Selection Of Your Comments
August 2002

August 7, 2021

To whom it may concern,

In my opinion this issue is very important. Who are we to legislate in matters of relationships especially when the legislation reflects a value and an opinion? I am not gay. I don't have any personal investment in this issue except for the simple matter that I know that two people that want to commit to each other is not an issue to be decided by a government, a committee or anyone other than the parties involved.

Thank you,

Dianne Carruthers
Vancouver, BC

August 17, 2021

Kevin and Joe;

I just finished your book. Excellent! On page 258 you state, "But the time is approaching when society will shun those who promote hatred and inequality towards homosexuals." This is not a pipe dream, it has already started to happen, one person at a time. In September of 2000, my daughter had just moved into residence at Queen's University. In the common room, that first week, one student made racist and homophobic remarks... and he was shunned. Students just melted out of whatever room he happened to be in; no one wanted to be around him.

When I first heard this story, it gave me hope for the future; so I'm passing it along to you.

Donna Daitchman

We are looking forward to visiting and lecturing at various universities across Canada in the coming school year. Mostly because we expect, as we did with your letter, to learn more about our future than we will be sharing about the past.

August 25, 2021

I was fortunate in my immigration to Canada that the immigration interviewer found and respected the credibility of my relationship with Ron and welcomed me to enter the country. When Ron passed, I was very fortunate that Ron's family, and the people with whom I had to conduct business were not only sympathetic to the relationship that Ron and I had, but also respected my authority in taking care of Ron's affairs.

I was fortunate.

I understand that many gay and lesbian couples experience difficult situations throughout their relationship when dealing with financial and legal affairs of the relationship that married couples take for granted. Unfortunately, without the "legal marriage", a loophole exists for business, banking institutions, medical facilities, etc., to institute their subjective clauses. For example, if a banking institution were to require a marriage certificate as proof of spousal relationship so as to "protect" their account-holders from false claims of "domestic partnerships", true same-sex spousal relationships would be in jeopardy. The relationship's "intent" must first be proven - which can be difficult with family members to object to "the lifestyle", as if we had a choice. This is not only cause for additional expense in time and money (neither of which not all of us can afford), but it also treats all of us as second-class citizens who must continually "prove" our intentions for every instance where doubt arises, leaving the door open to individual subjugation and the threat of potential defeat of a same-sex couple's "intent" in their relationship.

Please help close this loophole. As I am not a Canadian Citizen as yet, I cannot sign this petition. If you support this initiative, I urge you to sign for me and forward this message to those who you feel would also support this cause.

Thank you for your time.

Patrick Hannon
Western Ontario

August 28, 2002

Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell have done a service for our community, that will be spoken of many years from now. They have written a book, but not just any book. This book describes the planning, preparation, and carrying out of a marriage between two couples of the same sex. When we started to read the book we were expecting a lot of detail, and boring statistics. However, what we got was a true love story, and the courage of two men, who refused to give up their quest to marry the person they loved. We laughed with Joe as he tried to cook a stir-fry, while glaring camera lights shone around him. We cried as the ignorance of bigotry rose it's ugly head, both >inside and outside the church during the ceremony. We cheered as they left on their honeymoon, to begin a future together, as one. This book wasn't written just for our community, it was written for those who have lost hope, and are looking for a place in society. "Just Married" shouldn't be read only by people who support equal marriage, it is required reading for those who oppose it. Thanks guys for your courage.

Lloyd Thornhill/Bob Peacock
Vancouver