First, Canada:
OTTAWA, Ontario (Reuters) — Canada’s Parliament Tuesday approved legislation to allow same sex-marriages across the country, despite fierce opposition from conservative politicians and religious groups.
Legislators voted by 158-133 to support the bill, which makes Canada only the third country in the world after Belgium and the Netherlands to permit gay marriages.
Most Canadian provinces already allow same-sex marriages, and Canada has become a popular destination for gay and lesbian couples from countries where these unions are banned.
The minority Liberal government said it had to draw up the legislation after courts in eight of the country’s 10 provinces ruled that a ban same-sex marriages was unconstitutional because it violated Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Next, Spain:
MADRID, Spain (AP) — Parliament legalized gay marriage Thursday, defying conservatives and clergy who opposed making traditionally Roman Catholic Spain the third country in the world to officially recognize same-sex unions. Gay rights activists cheered lawmakers and blew them kisses.
The measure passed the 350-seat Congress of Deputies by a vote of 187-147 with four abstentions. The bill, part of the ruling Socialists’ aggressive agenda for social reform, also lets gay couples adopt children and inherit each others’ property.
The bill is now law. The Senate, where conservatives hold the largest number of seats, rejected the bill last week, but the Senate is an advisory body and final say on legislation rested with the Congress of Deputies.
Gay couples will be allowed to marry as soon as the law is published in the official government registry, the Boletin Oficial del Estado. This could come as early as Friday or within two weeks at the latest, the parliament’s press office said.
The Netherlands and Belgium were already up in this whole gay marriage thing. The U.S.? Well, it’s no secret that Dubya supports an amendment to ban gay marriage.
My question is, where in this whole “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” thing does it say that… oh, forget it. I’m so annoyed with the general intolerance of the right wing that I can’t even formulate a proper argument.
I just hope that lots of gay American couples have at least one partner who meets the Employment Requirements of Canadian Immigration and Citizenship.
