Graft scandal threatens Canadian marriage bill
Legislation legalizing same-sex marriage that has nearly completed its journey through the Canadian Parliament may be doomed.
But even if the bill dies, same-sex marriage likely will remain legal in the seven provinces and one territory that have legalized it. Five other provinces and territories have not done so.
The problem is not lack of support for the bill but rather that a corruption scandal may bring down the current government and lead to a new election. The scandal involves allegations of kickbacks, payoffs and judicial appointments to party hacks, said Toronto-based 365Gay.com .
If the Liberals win again, the bill likely would be quickly reintroduced. But, if a Conservative coalition seizes power, the Conservatives have promised to introduce a bill to define marriage as between a man and a woman while giving gays civil unions.
Conservative leader Stephen Harper has said he also wants to kill off legal same-sex marriage in British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec and the Yukon Territory, but it's not at all clear that would be legally possible.
The provinces and territories that have not legalized gay marriage are Alberta, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Prince Edward Island. A court case on the matter is under way in New Brunswick. Courts forced legalization of same-sex marriage in all the locations where it is allowed.
Canada has no residency requirements for marriage, and only Quebec has a waiting period after purchase of a license.
Same-sex marriage also is legal in Belgium and the Netherlands, and will be allowed in Spain by autumn. Belgium and the Netherlands do have residency requirements. Same-sex couples also have access to regular marriage in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
Spanish PM
blasts bishops
Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on May 11 defended the nation's recently passed law allowing full same-sex marriage, and took a swipe at the Spanish Bishops' Conference for opposing it.
The bishops have called on Spanish Catholics, including those who work in government, to commit civil disobedience by refusing to implement the law.
'I will never understand those who proclaim love as the foundation of life, while denying so radically protection, understanding and affection to our neighbors, our friends, our relatives, our colleagues,' Zapatero said in his State of the Nation address to Parliament. 'What kind of love is this that excludes those who experience their sexuality in a different way?'
The same-sex marriage law is expected to come into force by this autumn.
WorldPride isn't
postponed yet
Organizers say a recent report in the Jerusalem Post about the postponement of Jerusalem WorldPride 2005 was wrong.
The paper reported that the events, planned for Aug. 18-27, would be rescheduled due to concerns that police could not simultaneously protect the pride celebrations and the planned evacuation of Jews from Gaza.
It quoted organizer Hagai El-Ad of the Jerusalem Open House gay center as saying, 'The homo-lesbian community in Israel is not oblivious to what is going on in the country and to the major public event that the Gaza pullout will be.'
On May 11, however, El-Ad disputed the Post story, calling it 'outrageously premature.' He said the pride events will be reorganized only if they occur at the same time as the Gaza pullout, which, at present, lacks a precise date.
WorldPride has been aggressively denounced by local Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders.
The celebration—which was last held in Rome in 2000—is licensed by InterPride, the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Coordinators.