SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (BP)–A judge in Saskatchewan legalized same-sex “marriage” Nov. 5, making it the seventh Canadian jurisdiction to redefine marriage.
“The common-law definition of marriage for civil purposes is declared to be ‘the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others,'” Justice Donna Wilson wrote in her five-page ruling, according to Canadian Press.
The ruling means that six of Canada’s 10 provinces now have legalized same-sex “marriage.” The Yukon is the only of the country’s three territories with same-sex “marriage.”
Judges have been involved in all seven marriage redefinition cases.
The case began when five homosexual couples sued the Saskatchewan government, arguing that the traditional definition of marriage was discriminatory. The provincial government did not defend the law, paving the way for the judge to make her ruling. It is not being appealed.
The provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia all have same-sex “marriage.”
The federal government, run by the Liberal Party, is moving to legalize same-sex “marriage” nationwide.
The past year has seen the United States and Canada move in opposite directions on the marriage issue.
Although polls show roughly one-half of Canada’s citizens oppose same-sex “marriage,” the nation’s leaders have moved to legalize it. Prime Minister Paul Martin supports same-sex “marriage.”
Meanwhile, Americans oppose same-sex “marriage” by a margin of 2-to-1, polls show. President Bush — who favors a constitutional ban on same-sex “marriage” — was re-elected Nov. 2, and conservative Republicans made gains in the Senate. In addition, 11 states passed amendments banning same-sex “marriage. They passed with an average of 70.1 percent of the vote.
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For more information about the national debate over same-sex “marriage,” visit www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage.
