Both houses, the state Senate and the Legislature in California passed a historic bill legalizing same sex marriage… except Governor Schwarzenegger, who veto’d the bill.

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The first country in the world to ban same-sex marriage on a “federal” level in their constitution is Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni signed the constitutional amendment into law. It specifies that same-sex marriages are illegal, not just providing a definition for marriage in the country.

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Civil Unions became law in Connecticut on midnight, Saturday, October 1. However, not all gay couples are celebrating this legislative first. The state is the first to pass such a law without being required to by the courts. Many believe this to be a second class compromise.

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The Vatican is banning gay priests. On a recommendation approved by the Pope, gay priests, even those who are celibate, are no longer welcome in the Roman Catholic faith. Many who oppose it believe it will cause great harm to the Church.

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“I am a strong Catholic,” Prime Minister Paul Martin told a gathering of reporters. The Vatican is discussing refusing sacraments such as holy communion to those politicians who pass laws that violate church law. The Prime Minister stands by his decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

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Quote of the Month

“After 30 years of feeling married in our hearts and living our lives as if we’re married, accepting a status that’s not marriage is very insulting, there’s no greater love than what Carol and I have shared for 30 years.”

This monthly column features news and issues affecting gays and lesbians in Canada and around the world.

Same-sex marriage is now legal across Canada! The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 41 to 21 with 3 abstentions. Supreme Court Justice Beverly McLachlin, who was acting on behalf of Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, signed the bill into law on the next day. Clarkson was recovering from having a pace maker installed at a Toronto hospital.
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Shortly after the bill granting same-sex marriage received Royal Assent, Alberta held its first same-sex wedding. Yahoo News is reporting that two Alberta women became the first couple in the province to be married under the legislation. Their names are not being released, as they requested the affair be kept private. Gay activists assert that not every same-sex wedding needs to be shown in the media.
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Prince Edward Island is Canada’s holdout province. The province won’t be issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples until the fall, so they can pass an omnibus bill to change the wording in the province’s various statutes. This legislative process could take months. Critics argue that the province should have been ready before same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada.
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With Bush re-elected in the USA and same-sex marriage now legal in Canada, many expected that Americans would be flocking to Canada. However, according to a processing centre in Buffalo, New York, six months before the election applications numbered 16,226, and after the election the number fell to 14,666. Critics say that it isn’t easy to just up and move, as money has to be saved to prove they can provide for themselves in Canada, and there is a two year waiting period.
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This week, a British court will hear a case of a couple of women who were married in Vancouver, and now wish to have their marriage recognized by the United Kingdom. Civil unions become law in December; however, the women argue that their relationship is a marriage and not a civil partnership. They say if the court rules against them, they will take it to the European Court of Human Rights.
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US Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts, Jr. has worked behind the scenes to help out a gay rights case. At the time, he was a lawyer specializing in appeals. He helped out gay rights activists behind the scenes to successfully convince the US Supreme Court to issue a ruling protecting gay people from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Roberts is a presidential republican nominee.
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Ireland could be the next European nation to grant same-sex rights. The country’s Minister of Justice confirmed that proposals are being drawn up to grant legal recognition to same-sex couples. So far, the government is discussing UK-style civil partnerships. Full marriage is unexpected in the predominately Catholic nation, despite Spain legalizing same-sex marriage.
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Quote of the Month

“You have no idea what a difference it makes to the human spirit to know that you are treated equally under the law” (Email sent to 71-year-old Senator Ione Christensen from Whitehorse. These were the last words read to a hushed Senate before Bill C-38 was passed.)
http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/07/072005canadaRxn.htm

This monthly column features news and issues affecting gays and lesbians in Canada and around the world. Look for it on the second week of each month, only in The Voice.

Welcome to this special edition of Gay and Lesbian Update! The budget has passed!

Late Thursday, June 23, the Liberals and NDP passed the budget, with help from the Bloc Quebecois in passing a motion stating that the Conservatives were holding up the passing of the budget. The acceptance of the budget came after the NDP, Liberals and BQ voted to extend the session of the house to specifically deal with same-sex marriage legislation which is expected to pass easily.
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The military has performed its first same-sex wedding. Two servicemen were married at CFB Greenwood in Nova Scotia by the military Chaplin.
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Previous to this column, New Brunswick Judge Judy Clendenning ruled in favour of four couples, clearing the way for them to marry. Her ruling gave the province 10 days to allow for the necessary work, such as the changing of forms.
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The bill to legalize same-sex marriage across Canada has passed the House of Commons. The vote was 158 to 133 in favour. Stephen Harper has vowed to repeal the bill if the Conservatives form the next government. In 1969, Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau decriminalized homosexuality. The bill to legalize same sex marriage, which remains “illegal” in Prince Edward Island, Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut still needs to pass the Senate, seen as only a formality, and receive royal assent. The monarch hasn’t used royal prerogative to veto legislation since the 1700s.
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Quote of the Month

“I think there was a sense that many people thought they would never have seen something like this in their lifetimes and not in a negative way, but in a positive way,” Lt Cmdr David Greenwood of CFB Greenwood, in reference to the recent same-sex wedding there, June 14.

This monthly column features news and issues affecting gays and lesbians in Canada and around the world. Look for it on the second week of each month, only in The Voice.

On June 1, 2005, Lynn Warren and Alex Ali of The Amazing Race 7 fame were married in Ottawa. They were invited to the Capital by local radio station HOT 89.9 FM. Following the announcement, local sponsors such as Ottawa Tourism and the Hudson’s Bay Company jumped on board to sponsor the event. Warren and Ali were appreciative of the Capital’s celebration of their love, and highly recommended it as a wedding destination. Tourism officials hailed it as advertising you couldn’t buy.
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Pat O’Brien, MP for London-Fanshawe, has left the Liberal Party over his opposition to same-sex marriage. canadaeast.com reported that Prime Minister Paul Martin met with several dissident MPs over the issue so that they would vote for bill C-38. However, many wanted further strengthening of protection for those who do not wish to perform same-sex marriages, and no deal was reached. O’Brien plans to do everything he can to oppose bill C-38.
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Jason Perrino and Colin Snow wish to be married in the Northwest Territories, so they have filed a law suit to gain this right. None of the governments are opposing the suit against the government, however, it has been delayed to allow Ruby and Laurin Trudel of Yellowknife to intervene in the case. The couple wishes to oppose same-sex marriage and feel this is their moment to speak up.
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A conservative Christian group has ended its 9-year boycott against Disney. The boycott by the American Family Association had limited to no impact, and the group feels they need to devote more resources to it if it’s to continue. They feel the situation will be better resolved with Disney President Michael Eisner’s retirement.
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Microsoft has severed ties with Ralph Reed, a conservative Republican lobbyist and former head of a notable Christian organization. He served as a political consultant to Microsoft, and was a vocal opponent of LGBT rights. He’s now running for lieutenant governor of Georgia, but Microsoft had a public relations nightmare after it withdrew its support for a Washington civil rights bill. The bill lost by a single vote thanks to Microsoft’s anti-gay views. Microsoft later reversed itself to say it did support civil rights.
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Gay weddings have come to TV. Last week Global TV launched My Fabulous Gay Wedding, hosted by Scott Thompson, former star of The Kids in the Hall. In the series, the team Thompson puts together has two weeks to arrange a wedding, with food, location, decor and the whole nine yards. Producers expect controversy over the show, but for now, couples can happily celebrate their nuptials on national TV… in Canada.
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New Paltz, New York Mayor, Jason West, is going to trial. He faces 24 misdemeanour counts for violating the state’s law on domestic relations by marrying couples without a marriage license last February 2004. The state’s highest court ruled Friday, May 27 that the village mayor will go to trial. His actions came after San Francisco started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite the fact that it is not legal in California. Mayor West will be leading the upcoming Gay Pride parade, New Paltz’s first, this weekend.
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Colorado’s Governor Bill Owens vetoed a bill to outlaw workplace discrimination against gays and lesbians, but he allowed a protection under the state’s hate crimes law to protect gays and lesbians. Many groups are confused by this contradictory decision.
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Quote of the Month

“A straight man knows that if he knocks a woman up, he’s on the hook for child support payments for 18 years. [I propose that if you] infect someone with HIV out of malice or negligence … the state [should] come after you for half the cost of the meds the person you infected is going to need. (The man you infected is 50 percent responsible for his own infection.) Once a few dozen men in New York City, San Francisco, Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Vancouver are having their wages docked for drug support payments, other gay men will be a lot more careful about not spreading HIV. Trojan won’t be able to make condoms fast enough.”

— Syndicated gay columnist Dan Savage, Feb. 24.

This monthly column features news and issues affecting gays and lesbians in Canada and around the world. Look for it on the second week of each month, only in The Voice.

The legislation to legalize same-sex marriage has passed its second reading in the House of Commons, 164 to 137. The bill now goes to committee to be studied before it can be read a third time. After the bill passes the House of Commons after the third reading, it must sill pass the Senate.
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Connecticut’s House and Senate have passed a bill legalizing same-sex civil unions. They are the only state to do this without prompting from the court. The Governor signed the bill, making the legislation law in the state.
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The Anglican Church of Canada has agreed for now to halt blessing same-sex unions, but refused to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council. The House of Bishops deferred the matter to the General Synod.
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With the threat of an election, Canada’s bill to legalize same-sex marriage could die on the order paper if it isn’t voted on prior to the Governor General dropping the writ. Recently the Liberals and the NDP came to an understanding over the budget that could see the Liberals win a motion of no confidence, however, that will require them to win all of the independent votes in the House of Commons.
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A Swedish restaurant has been fined 50,000 crowns by a Court of Appeals for throwing out a lesbian couple because they were kissing. The restaurant owner defended his actions by saying he did not let anyone engage in kissing on his premises.
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This week California is expected to get a bill on same-sex marriage. The Assembly’s Judiciary Committee has approved a bill by Mark Leno, D-San Francisco to permit same-sex unions. Opponents are planning tactics to hopefully kill the bill.
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Quote of the Month

The “frozen concepts” reasoning runs contrary to one of the most fundamental principles of Canadian constitutional interpretation: that our Constitution is a living tree which, by way of progressive interpretation, accommodates and addresses the realities of modern life.

–Supreme Court of Canada, in its ruling, Re: Same sex marriage, December 2004

This monthly column features news and issues affecting gays and lesbians in Canada and around the world. Look for it on the second week of each month, only in The Voice.

A Cornell University expert says the term “gay adolescent” will soon disappear. According to Ritch Savin-Williams, professor and chair of human development in Cornell’s College of Human Ecology, “the new gay teenager is in many respects the non-gay teenager.” He asserts that the label of “gay” is inadequate to describe adolescent sexuality. Ritch believes fewer teenagers want or need to identify with the label. He contends that most adolescents do not link sexuality and identity.
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Q Television Network (QT) is making a bid to buy Canada’s PrideVision television station. The station was the world’s first gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender television station broadcasting 24/7. Frank Olsen, President and CEO of QT, is optimistic the bid will be successful. He foresees economic benefits for QT attributable to the acquisition.
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An amendment to the US constitution to ban gay marriage has been re-introduced in the House of Representatives. It was put forward only days after a judge in San Franscisco ruled that the ban is unconstitutional. If the amendment is enacted, the Constitution would provide for the unequal treatment of a subset of the population.
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Alberta has spent $110,000 in legal fees to fight same-sex marriage. Most of the Progressive Conservative Members of the Legislative Assembly are opposed to same-sex marriage.
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Two gay men were executed in Saudi Arabia recently. The men allegedly beat to death a Pakistani man to stop him from exposing their homosexual relationship. Homosexuality is a criminal offense in Saudi Arabia.
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Judge Richard Kramer has ruled that California’s voter-approved Defence of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. He said that there was “no rational purpose” for denying same-sex couples marriage rights. The state’s Supreme Court is expected to settle the issue.
http://msnbc.msn.com/ID/7182628/

New York City is going to recognize certain same-sex marriages. The marriages must have been legally performed in an out of state location where the marriage or civil union is legally recognized. Special Counsel to Mayor Bloomberg made the proactive announcement. Courts in the state of New York are currently examining if same-sex marriages will be performed and legally recognized in the state.
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Without prodding from a court, Connecticut’s state Senate approved a bill to legalize same-sex unions. The bill provides for Vermont-style civil unions. The Governor has expressed support previously for civil unions in the state. The bill must now be voted on by the state’s House.
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Quote of the Month

“From this whirlwind comes a campaign against fellow citizens trying to find in this difficult world a measure of happiness through a singular commitment to another human being. But try to find a compelling state interest in denying two adults the fundamental right to marry because of their sexual orientation. There is none.”