New Definition Of Same Sex Marriages example essay topic

Summaries of Articles on Same Sex Marriages Civics On June 17th, 2003, the Prime Minister of Canada made the announcement that the Federal Government was going to redefine marriage and allow same-sex unions in Canada. A legislation to legalize same-sex marriages, that also "protects the right of churches and religious organizations to sanctify marriage as they define it", is expected to be ready in a matter of weeks. After the legislation is referred to the Supreme Court, a "free vote" will occur in the House of Commons to allow the Liberals to vote against it if they wish to do so. The Canadian Federal Government is in charge of defining what a marriage is, it is the Provincial Government who gives out the marriage licenses and decides what the requirements are the for the actual wedding ceremony. In Ontario, because of the Ontario Court of Appeal ruling, that states marriage as "voluntary union for life of two persons to the exclusion of all others", many same-sex partners are taking advantage of this. On July 8, 2003, the British Columbia Court of Appeal gave permission for same-sex marriages to occur in British Columbia also.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has decided that by ceasing to allow same-sex marriages to exist is against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On June 10, there was a unanimous at Ontario's highest court. It stated that the law defining marriage as "one man and one woman" offends the Charter; it was ruled as invalid and the new definition states marriage as the "voluntary union for life of two persons to the exclusion of all others". The court ruled that this new found definition was to take effect immediately. Because of the ruling, the City of Toronto was ordered to give marriage licenses to 7 couples that were involved. On June 17th, 2003 the Canadian Government announced that it was taking the legislation to the Supreme Court to introduce the new definition of same-sex marriages.

Recently, it has been known that various religions are against same-sex marriages. This article states that Canada's largest Protestant Church promotes the right for gay people to be allowed to marry another gay person. After only 45 minutes in a debate involving the United Church of Canada, which includes Methodists and Presbyterians, states, according to CBC News: "I don't think it's inevitable that we will follow suit in this country, but I do believe that there will be mainline large denominations in this country, possibly the United Methodists, possibly others, that will endorse same-sex marriage in the near future", [Linda] Harvey said... The United Church is seen as one of the most liberal churches in Canada. In 1988, it became the first major church to ordain open homosexuals, a move that caused a large number of members to leave. In 1992, it created a liturgy for blessing same-sex unions.

By stating the such, the United Church could risk losing some of their support, but hopefully not enough to make the organization think twice about it. It is believed that this statement may influence religious organizations like it to give support to gay and lesbian marriages. During the late 1990's and early 2000's, many provinces in Canada, including Nova Scotia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia almost the same common law marriage rights as heterosexual couples. On June 10th, 2003, in Ontario, gay and lesbian couples were allowed to be married, registered and licensed for the first time in Canada, after the Federal Government widened the definition of marriage. On July 8th, 2003, British Columbia also joined the act to allow same-sex marriages to occur and be acknowledged. It was stated that soon Quebec will be joining the act also.

If this is to occur, almost 80% of gay or lesbian couples will be able to obtain marriage licenses without having to leave their original province. It is expected for all same-sex couples to be given the right to be married anywhere in Canada by July of 2004.