Gay marriage 3 years old

(Toronto, Ontario) Dozens of same-sex couples celebrated in front of Toronto City Hall on Friday, marking the third anniversary of the landmark court ruling that struck down Canada's ban on gay marriage.

On hand to mark the occasion was federal New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton, a former Toronto city council member.



On June 10, 2003 the Ontario Court of Appeals - the highest court in the province - ruled that prohibiting gay marriage was a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of the Canadian Constitution.

The ruling allowed same-sex couples to immediately receive marriage licenses and wed.

"The existing common law definition of marriage violates the couples' equality rights on the basis of sexual orientation under [the charter]," the 61-page written ruling said.



Courts in other provinces followed and the then Liberal federal government said it would not appeal the rulings to the Supreme Court of Canada. Instead it brought in legislation to permit same-sex marriage in all regions of the country. The law was passed last year.

Since the beginning of the toppling of the prohibition on same-sex marriage some 10,000 gay and lesbian couples have wed across the country.



The most weddings were in Ontario where nearly 5,800 couples have tied the knot. British Columbia was next with 3,100. In Nunavut, in the Eastern Arctic one same-sex couple wed.
But if Canada's new Conservative government gets its way the march to the altar for same-sex couples will end. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged to re-open the marriage issue this fall.

Earlier this month he said that MPs will be asked to debate the issue. If there is support in Parliament the government would bring in a repeal bill.



The chances of that are slim. All three opposition parties are opposed to re-opening the issue. The public also is uneasy with it. Recent polls show that most Canadians have grown comfortable with same-sex marriage.