Canada on Verge of Legalizing Same-Sex 'Marriage'

by Fred Jackson and Jody Brown
June 29, 2005

(AgapePress) - Canada's pro-family community is vowing to continue the fight for traditional marriage in the wake of a Parliamentary vote on Tuesday night which approved homosexual "marriage."

The fight against the legalization of homosexual marriage has raged on for two years in Canada. But that came to an end last night when, by a vote of 158-133, the Canadian House of Commons approved same-sex marriage. The vote was three more than was needed to gain a majority vote. All that remains now is for the Canadian Senate to review the legislation, but that is largely considered a formality. Final approval of Bill C-38 would make Canada the third nation in the world to embrace same-sex marriage, joining Belgium and the Netherlands.

Prime Minister Paul Martin, a Roman Catholic, has declared that despite anyone's personal beliefs, all Canadians should be granted the same right to marriage. Conservatives had accused the prime minister of making a deal with pro-homosexual members of Parliament. The Globe & Mail newspaper reports that immediately following the vote, Martin "dashed out the door, wishing all a good summer."

That same newspaper report quotes Vic Toews, a Conservative member of Parliament, who has concerns about what passage of C-38 could mean for religious expression. "There are still a lot of concerns about how effective this bill is going to in terms of protecting religious freedoms," Toew says. "What I have heard from people right across this country is, they're very unhappy with the way the Liberal government has rammed this matter through."

Toews is particularly unhappy with how the prime minister has handled the matter. He notes that "just last week [Prime Minister Martin] promised amendments to protect free speech; yet government officials now admit that the bill is virtually un-amendable." Martin's history on same-sex marriage, the MP says, is a "history of broken promises."

Charles McVety is a spokesman for Defend Marriage Canada, a group that has fought the push for same-sex marriage. He sounded a dejected note. "It's a sad day because the great institution of marriage that has built this civilization, the foundation of our society, has been defiled by our Parliament," McVety says. "I fear radical social change thrust upon a nation that is not asking for it."

Flanked by a group of clergymen on Tuesday night, McVety vowed his group would work to vote out lawmakers who supported the legislation when the next general election is held.

Associated Press says that according to government statistics, there are an estimated 34,000 homosexual couples in Canada.

Meanwhile, a pro-family activist in California believes what is happening in Canada could have a positive influence on the move to protect traditional marriage in his state. Randy Thomasson is president of the Sacramento-based Campaign for Children and Families and one of the organizers behind the VoteYesMarriage.com campaign, which is seeking to place the Voters' Right to Protect Marriage Initiative on the 2005 ballot.

Thomasson calls the Canadian Parliament's decision on Tuesday a "sad event" -- but is convinced it will "spur average Californians to sign petitions this summer" in support of the Initiative. Canada's "ice-cold attack" on marriage, he says, is making voters in the Golden State "red-hot to protect marriage rights for one man and one woman once and for all."

According to the VoteYesMarriage.com website, passage of the Voters' Right to Protect Marriage Initiative will place the institution of marriage beyond the reach of state judges and politicians so they could not create "counterfeit marriages." Organizations endorsing the Initiative include the Center for Reclaiming America, the Home School Legal Defense Association, American Family Association, Liberty Counsel, and Traditional Values Coalition.