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Openly Gay Toronto City Councilor Marries
International News Report Great Britain Plans to Legalize Civil Unions
In the wake of Canada's stunning legalization of gay
marriage, the United Kingdom is planning to create civil
partnerships for same-sex couples that will give them the
rights and obligations of marriage, The Independent
reported June 18.
There are similar laws in the majority of European Union nations but the U.K. has lagged behind. (Two European nations -- The Netherlands and Belgium -- let gays marry under the ordinary marriage laws.) The British initiative will be announced in November's Queen's Speech and should become law next year. "The changes would transform the lives of gay and lesbian people, allowing them to benefit from a dead spouse's pension, exempt them from inheritance tax on a partner's home and give next of kin rights in hospitals," The Independent said. "The proposals make the civil partnership as close to a marriage contract as possible, even including provision for a form of divorce through 'dissolution' of a partnership." Openly Gay Toronto City Councilor Marries Openly gay Toronto city councilor Kyle Rae and his partner of nine years, Mark Reid, got married at a downtown art gallery June 20. The province of Ontario's highest court legalized full marriage for same-sex couples July 10 in a decision that took effect immediately. A week later, the federal government said it agreed with the decision and will open up marriage nationwide within a few months. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien accepted the court's determination that banning same-sex marriage violates Canada's constitution, which prohibits any discrimination that cannot be "demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society." Ontario has no residency requirement for marriage and there have been many Americans among the scores of same-sex couples who have gotten hitched since June 10. One can purchase a marriage license and marry the same day. "I'm hoping more Americans come up here and get married and erode the [U.S. Congress'] Defense of Marriage Act," Rae told the Washington Post. "I think as more and more Americans come up to get married, states will have a difficult time not recognizing a sovereign state's marriage license." The only other nations that let same-sex couples marry under the ordinary marriage laws are Belgium and The Netherlands. A dozen other nations have comprehensive domestic-partnership laws that grant registered same-sex couples most or all of the rights of marriage. |
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