Proposition 8

Keith Olbermann’s comment on the passage of Proposition 8 in California is worth watching.

In Canada, we’ve seen a major transition over the last decade in terms of how Canadians view this question. In response to court rulings in Canada that saw the marriage laws in Canada as violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the minority Liberal government of Paul Martin (yes, the other Paul Martin) introduced Bill C-38, otherwise known as The Civil Marriage Act. This bill redefined marriage for legal purposes in Canada as “the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others.” This bill passed in the House of Commons 158-133, so it clearly was not unanimously supported. Most of Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party, for instance, voted against this bill. It’s significant, though, that many Canadian MPs and their constituents saw this as an important bill that should be passed. (this site offers some good background on the history of these issues in Canada.

Three short years (and two Canadian elections) later, my sense is that the vast majority of Canadians would not be in favour of revoking these rights and, in fact, see this decision as clearly the right and honourable thing to have done. Many of us are proud of our country for having finally made this decision. Those who opposed this bill have seen that the sky has not fallen. It has not threatened the institution of marriage in Canada. If anything, it has made it stronger. It has finally given same sex couples the same rights and opportunities that heterosexual couples have taken for granted for as long as anyone can recall. Ultimately, this is a simple question of basic human rights. Nothing more, nothing less.

In a week where we should be looking at how much America has changed, how much hatred and bigotry has been left behind, it’s a shame that we also have to be reminded of how much further the country has yet to go before all of its citizens can truly be the holders of equal rights.

Postscript: Some further surfing turned up this 2007 survey which found that 62% of Canadians polled would support adding sexual orientation to the equality rights section of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.