Hey... I read a short news blurb yesterday morning about the Prime Minister of Canada signing something to allow same-sex marriages in Canada. Is this really happening? That's pretty cool if so, right?

Way to go Canada !!! :)

Lys,

Yes this is true. It has just passed and the Government of Canada has decided not to challenge the decision any further stating that this was inevitable in 'modern times'.

It is now legal in the Province of Ontario and BC for same sex couples to 'marry'. There have been line ups at the window for marriage licenses since this ruling. I also understand that Americans are coming in droves to be married here as well. Of course the US State will not recognize this legality but it is I guess the statement that they are making and the fact that somewhere they are viewed as 'equal'. Our other Provinces are expected to follow suit in the coming months...

Canada is the third country in the world to legalize same sex unions joining France and The Netherlands.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1052251872806&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037

There are so many news stories about it but above is one from the Toronto Star yesterday...

Teb

Unfortunately France doesn't legalize same sex unions. The other countries are The Netherlands and Belgium.

In France we have a common life certificate (PACS: PActe Civil de Solidarité) for same sex couple , but it's not actually a marriage. This will help Joey to get a French resident card though.

They Gay and Lesbian associations are working hard on a real marriage, but with this very conservative government we have, there's no hope. :( Hopefully in 2007 we will kick it out !! :D

Phil

:) This is great! It's about time more countries start looking at doing this and doing it.... Unfortunately, conservatives think they should rule everyone's private life...

Deb

Phil - I knew that! LOL But this morning I for the life of me could not bring Belgium to mind. I did however know that France had PACS thingy... lol

BRAVO FOR THEM!!!

woooohoooo Canada...see why it's my favorite country in the whole wide world :D

I believe the American Republic of Alberta will invoke the "notwithstanding" clause that allows a province of Canada to opt out of any Constitutional right. Their Premier has indicated as much.

I saw that story on the news here in Detroit. Way to Go Canada! It's about time!!!!
Hopefully Detroit will follow suit soon. We have a gay/lesbian festival here about 2 minutes from my house, where people can exchange rings, and make vows to their loves. I think it's a wonderful thing. I only hope that the good ol USA can follow Canada's example. It's good to see people opening their eyes and realizing that whats right is right. Rock on Canada!

soda,

LOL, but you know what? The Alberta Government will feel the pinch when the gay community moves to Ontario... We are a high 'consuming' community with higher than average disposable incomes... They will be sorry... Just watch the gay communities in many parts of the world - Canada included... - above average lifestyles... It's a fact that the gay community has a very strong economic voice - one of the reasons why there are so many very large corporations that sponsor events like Pride... there is money there and money talks.

bravo to canada.

Oh yes, Canda has been making the news a lot over this issue and the hostility of some of their political leaders who are anti-gay....as well as a recent case filed in the U.S. that is trying to use the recent decision in Canda as the legal argument here in the US, specific to a case that has decided to bypass the arguments of the "union" crap and go straight for the juggler and demand full fledge marriage rights. Surpisingly the court is actually considering the case... by all accounts I figured it would have been dismissed quicker than anything in light of other recent court decisions rulling against gays....


The Babist Church Organization announced recently that it intends upon launcing a new campaign...."love the sinner, hate the sin" To-wit: they are going to try to encourage gays to attend their church's so they can be converted into heterosexuals.... And while other Church's have tried this very thing, they have been few in numbers and generally are smaller in size...thus making the Babist Church the largest in the US to undertake this effort.

Hmmm.... If I am converted....do you think they will let me convert to a women so I can still have sex with men? lol

I had read about Canada's new legislation last week. I was very happy that Canada did that. Now if I am understanding correctly, all of Canada has not passed this rule right? It is only in the specific areas or provinces mentioned, am I right? Well whatever which way the law has been passed in Canada is a very good one! As time goes on, more major areas will follow suit and this is a great thing. It is very slow and gradual, but I couldn't be happier for Canada. Now as far as the Baptist church is concerned, I can relate bigtime because I am baptist. The slogan "Love the sinner, hate the sin" is actually a powerful religious message which happens to be a valid one..........I just don't agree with it in relation to someone loving a human being be it man or woman. Love is love. I think it is a sin to pretend like you like a woman when you really love a man....another words, leading a woman to believe that you are all for her, but deep down your heart is entirely someplace else. Now THAT is a sin. Living a lie is a sin in my opinion. Now anyone really wanting to change their lives can do it if the desire to change is strong enough. I'm talking real desire to change. But that's like asking a straight woman or man to generate that desire to change their lives from loving what they always loved. It's easy for others on the outside of the issue to say "you ought to do this......or you ought to do that!" But, what would they do if they were really in those same shoes? That's the real question here. A lot of preachers try to treat the fact of men loving men as if they are treating an alcoholic or a drug addict, and it is not nearly the same at all! Loving men is not an addiction and it's not a choice. They just seem to think that it is a choice and it is not. Straight men and women were not brought up and raised to like what they like....they just do as a part of nature itself. They never chose that option, because it was innate and all natural. So in my opinion, if love is supposed to be what guides the church, then love should enable them to open themselves more than what's been demonstrated in the area of homosexuality, even though they don't understand it. It is the "not understanding it" that fuels their opposition moreso than what they feel scripture is interpreting, in my opinion. There are so many sins in this world that all of us are guilty of......yet they hate this the most because of lack of understanding. But most of them in the church would say "they don't need to understand it". Well they may be right that they don't need to; because love is love, and that's all the understanding that they need.

pookie:

I agree that the "love the sinner, hate the sin" is a powerful and certainly a very long-standing phrase. I guess I resent it when it is used or maybe abused rather to fit "political" agendas against a selected few rather than equally applied to everyone. Because you are very right when you said that there are a lot of sins going on out in the world.

I have a major problem with this "covert" crap because I believe it is nothing more than brainwashing mumbo jumbo and it is certainly a disservice to real heterosexuals. I mean can you imagine standing there having this guy saying... "Will you marry me, oh and by the way I use to be gay". A bit on the scarcastic side, but I think you get the drift.

There is some religious group in Topeka Kansas that has made the news recently because they have been sending a bunch of hate mail to different church's and business in Flordia that is anti-gay. This group intends upon going to FL and marching on some gay beach this summer in protest and they have said they intend upon protesting in front of church's, businesses and the city hall...with their "converted" ex-gay members.

To set the record straight here, there is nothing to praise the Canadian (federal) government for. They did not legislate; from time to time they studied. They procrastinated (probably the real meaning of the name of the Liberal party is the procrastinating party) until a provincial court judge finally had enough of it and instead of urging legislation invalidated the legal definition of marriage (one man with one woman) in such a way that it was immediate, forcing the marriage license offices to issue licenses for gay marriages. (Hooray!!!) Then the federal government, non-plussed at having been beaten to it while they studied, had to decide whether to appeal and lose. Wimps! What a way to get it done! The Ontario judge we thank is Roy McMurtry, a wise and honorable man of decisive character.

BAD NEWS! If Paul Martin enters for prime ministers! GOODBYE GAYS AND LESBIANS AND BI's TOO!

It said it on the news he said he'd make all in his powers to opose the same sex marriages and it seems gays and lesbians as well!

Steph