THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Having escaped ( by a single vote ) last month's procedural attempt by the Conservative Party to dissolve parliament, the governing Liberals made good on their promise to pass the marriage bill before the summer recess. June 23 should have marked the end of the parliamentary session, but Prime Minister Paul Martin announced that he was extending it until a vote was taken on C-38.

Opposition Leader Stephen Harper conceded on Monday 27 that he did not have the votes to defeat the bill, especially after most members of the third party ( Bloc Quebecois ) and all but one in the fourth party ( New Democrats ) made it clear they would support the legislation. In the end, 158 Members of Parliament approved marriage equality and 133 voted against it. The Senate still needs to give its assent, which at this point is a mere legislative formality scheduled for some time in July.

Upon exiting the House of Commons, Harper promised he would revisit the issue if he is ever elected Prime Minister. But it is unlikely the law can be overturned as it is the result of multiple legal decisions and was drafted following a reference by the Canadian Supreme Court. Moreover, as more gay and lesbian couples avail themselves of their new right, it will become increasingly difficult to garner public support to invalidate constitutionally protected relationships.

On the morning of the final vote, as some had predicted, Minister of State Joe Comuzzi resigned his cabinet position citing moral and religious opposition to same-sex marriage. He will still sit in the House of Commons as a Liberal but he has had to relinquish his role as a leading policy adviser in exchange for the right to exercise a free vote.

Conservatives argued that churches could be accused of discrimination and dragged in front of human-rights tribunals if a progressive definition of marriage was adopted. But religious institutions are not bound by the new law. They will not be obligated to perform ceremonies they disagree with, and will be protected when refusing to rent out their premises to same-sex wedding parties.

According to statistics from the 2001 census, there are 34,000 same-sex couples in Canada. While the country does not have a residency requirement for marriage, the mandatory delay period between the date of issue of a license and the ceremony varies ( one to twenty days ) from one province to the next.