The Canadian government has taken a major step toward legalizing gay marriages, shrugging off protests from pro-family activists who saidOttawa was destroying a bedrock of society.
Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said he had sent draftlegislation on gay marriages to the Supreme Court of Canada toask for its opinion. Once the Supreme Court signs off on thelegislation, the government will allow members of Parliament tohold a free vote on the bill.
The Liberal government promised to act quickly last monthafter an Ontario court cited Canada's Charter of Rights andFreedoms and said gay marriages should be legalized. A BritishColumbia court followed suit and hundreds of same-sex coupleshave tied the knot in the two provinces.
"By expanding the definition of marriage to recognize theunion of same-sex couples, we are recognizing that allCanadians have the right to equality under the Charter,"Cauchon told a news conference.
"(This) does not take away any rights from opposite sexcouples, nor does it erode the significance or sanctity ofmarriage. On the contrary, it provides more Canadians withaccess to the institution of marriage."
He said the draft legislation would protect the freedom ofreligious belief and said no religious groups would be forcedto carry out gay marriage ceremonies.
The federal government - which has the constitutionalright to define marriage - wants the definition changed to"the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of allothers" from the lawful union of a man and a woman.
The Supreme Court is unlikely to rule before October, whichmeans a vote in Parliament could well be put off until nextyear. Opinion polls show a narrow majority of Canadians backthe idea of gay marriage.
Critics pointed out that as recently as 1999, the Liberalshad promised to take all necessary steps to preserve thetraditional definition of marriage.
"It's a radical flip-flop from the government...it's leftus saddened and outraged. Our heads are spinning," said JayBarwell of Focus on the Family, which has already said itintends to appeal the Ontario court decision.
"The historical definition (of marriage) is theunderpinning definition of societies from time immemorial andthis government has undertaken to change something that wasn'ttheirs to change, quite frankly. The Canadian government didn'tinvent marriage."
Gay activists were delighted, saying it would help create amore just society in Canada.
"We have access to pensions, we have access to inheritancerights, but without the benefit of marriage those in a same sexrelationship are still relegated to a second-class position,"said Stephen Lock of the group Egale Canada.
Many same sex couples getting married in Ontario andBritish Columbia are from the United States, where gaymarriages are forbidden. Vermont allows civil unions but notfull marriages.