Canada gets it
According to this New York Times story (registration required), Canada has approved gay marriage while the US President George W. Bush continues to use the issue to divide and conquer. Already six Canadian provinces and one territory had ruled that traditional marriage was discriminatory; now all of Canada will treat all citizens equally while also allowing religious leaders to make their own decisions on who they'll marry -- there's an obvious difference between civil and religious marriage -- a policy that the US could do well to learn from. Note especially the comments by the Canadian Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Paul Martin, who is Roman Catholic, had said he was personally ambivalent about the issue. But after the Supreme Court decision, he expressed enthusiasm for an expansion of marriage rights because, "I do not believe you can have two classes of citizens." He promised to press ahead expeditiously with the legislation, which is likely to pass the House of Commons by a narrow margin.
"Several centuries ago, it would have been understood that marriage be available only to opposite-sex couples," the Supreme Court ruling noted. "The recognition of same-sex marriage in several Canadian jurisdictions as well as two European countries belies the assertion that the same is true today."
The court said that as a matter of religious freedom, priests and other religious officials would not be obliged to preside over same-sex marriages. It also ruled that the federal government had exclusive authority over the definition of marriage.
"I think this will engender a debate across the country," Mr. Martin told reporters. "We are a mature nation and can undertake the debate."