# B.C. court approves same-sex marriages **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2003, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586 "2003-05-02T09:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Emperor\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/1 "2003-05-02T09:31:42Z")
[B.C. court approves same-sex marriages](http://www.canada.com/vancouver/story.asp?id=779F7A07-E8B1-44C1-B5DC-22CD8BD47694). Woo! > [@](#): > > In an explanation for their decision, the appeal judges wrote “that the common law definition of marriage contravenes the Charter and it cannot be justified in contemporary Canadian society.” That above quote just fills my queer heart with giddy glee 😃 Essentially BC has joined ranks with Ontario and Quebec in saying that same sex marriages should be allowed. Hopefully this will have an effect federally as well, but admittedly, my knowledge of political workings is regrettably slim, so I am unable to venture an opinion of what is to come. Perhaps some more knowledgeable dopers will be willing to voice their opinions? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/2 "2003-05-02T10:19:38Z")
You better watch out up there in Vancouver **Emperor Penguin** , or _You Know Who_, from here in Topeka, will be paying you a visit. He’s already condemned Ottawa and Toronto, and Canada as a whole, but I’m sure he’d be willing to add Western Canada to his repetoire. Get some sharpened wooden stakes, because this one comes out in the daytime!😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/3 "2003-05-02T10:22:56Z")
Yeah, but the last time _You Know Who_ tried to enter Canada, they woudn’t let him in… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![phraser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e4f/32.png) [@phraser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phraser)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/4 "2003-05-02T13:10:31Z")
For those of us who aren’t North Americans… Is _You Know Who_ the Reverend Fred Phelps? or are we talking Voldemort here? Are they, in fact, the same person? And _hooray_ for British Columbia! Maybe when I go work as a ski-lift operator there I can meet a nice girl and get married, too! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/5 "2003-05-02T13:31:07Z")
Yes, _You Know Who_ is Fred Phelps. Voldemort has too much style for Phelps’ gig. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/6 "2003-05-02T13:35:09Z")
Congratulations, but [don’t count your chickens](http://365gay.com/NewsContent/042103canMarriageAppeal.htm) just yet. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/7 "2003-05-02T14:02:24Z")
Well, good for BC! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/8 "2003-05-02T14:22:16Z")
Bravo, British Columbia, Bravo. 🙂 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/9 "2003-05-02T14:48:30Z")
To calm down, this ruling doesn’t do anything right away. What it does is say that the federal government must change the definition of marriage (which is a federal law, although civil status is provincial jurisdiction) by 2004, or have the federal supremes do it for them. As stated, this is more or less the same decision Ontario and Quebec provincial courts already made. So we have that additional voice. The House of Commons standing committee on justice and human rights just finished a tour of the country getting opinions on same-sex marriage. I testified before the committee as part of the Queer McGill Same-Sex Marriage Committee on Tuesday afternoon. The transcript will be available online [here](http://www.parl.gc.ca/InfoCom/CommitteeMinute.asp?Language=E&Parliament=9&Joint=0&CommitteeID=287) (look under April 29) in about three weeks. The recommendations of this committee could lead to a change in the law, and not a moment too soon. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/10 "2003-05-02T14:55:35Z")
Also, Quebec and Nova Scotia currently have same-sex civil unions offering rights equivalent to those of marriage (at least here; not sure about NS). And we have the right to _common-law_ marriage already. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/11 "2003-05-02T15:52:16Z")
Hey **matt** , has there been any word on how Canada will treat couples joined in legal marriage or civil union outside Canada? ---
**Author:** ![Emperor\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/12 "2003-05-03T00:38:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Otto \* > \*\*Congratulations, but [don’t count your chickens](http://365gay.com/NewsContent/042103canMarriageAppeal.htm) just yet. \*\* Yeah, I realize that this is only one step, but it is a step closer as far as I a m concerned. There are still many hurdles to overcome, but this comes as a nice suprise. And I never thought that I would see the day when the provinces of Ontario, Quebec AND BC would all agree on something.😃 [sub]ow… please don’t hit me…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Emperor\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/13 "2003-05-03T00:41:19Z")
Uhh… the article posted by **Otto** **wasn’t** a nice suprise. Just to clairify. Man, that looked bad, I can’t believe I didn’t notice that on preview. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-c-court-approves-same-sex-marriages/172586/14 "2003-05-03T03:54:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Hey matt, has there been any word on how Canada will treat couples joined in legal marriage or civil union outside Canada? Good heavens, I don’t know. However, I _do_ know that there is no residency requirement for obtaining a Quebec civil union, except insofar as you must publish the banns 3 weeks in advance, IIRC. In other words, if it be relevant, you could always re-marry in Quebec. What I wonder is, the Netherlands refuses to marry same-sex couples of whom neither are Dutch, Belgian, or Scandinavian, in order to avoid marrying people whose home countries do not permit same-sex partnerships. I therefore wonder when they’ll get around to permitting Canadians.