keywords: gay weddings, same-sex marriage, same sex marriage, same-sex weddings, same sex weddings, gay marriage, vancouver weddings, BC weddings, queer marriage, same-sex unions, equal marriage, LGBT weddings, Vancouver wedding photographers, same-sex wedding photographers, same sex wedding photographers, lesbian and gay friendly wedding photographers, marriage officiants, Vancouver wedding venues, Vancouver florists, Vancouver bakeries, Vancouver musicians, Vancouver jewellers, Vancouver bridal salons, Canadian same-sex marraiges, Canada weddings, same-sex marriage service providers, Canadian same-sex marriage case, litigant website, same-sex marriage in Canada, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, same-sex unions, commitment ceremonies For information about how to get married in BC, please click here: Wedding Resources "The right to marry for same-sex couples is a huge step forward on the long road to full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people. To have such a comprehensive archive of this gain is a great asset for GLBT people and Canadians alike. Many people have expressed opposition to equal marriage, which I believe is mainly rooted in fear and ignorance. Sites like this will educate and inform people on this subject, contributing further to the true social change that needs to be made in this country." Svend Robinson, former MP, Burnaby-Douglas " I continue to be inspired by all the same sex marriages taking place...what wonderful celebrations of love and committment. Although I'm not into the marriage thing myself - isn't that the whole point - to defend our choices and rights to marry or not, to have children or not and so on. I'm very proud that Jack Layton has been unequivocal on this issue. It is about equality and justice. Like many, I'm sick of the federal Liberal government stalling on this. I intend to do my bit and keep pushing for action until equality is there for the GLBT community." Libby Davies, MP, Vancouver East There's wonderful news from Canada!  In court decisions in 7 provinces and one territory, justices struck down the common-law, or judge-made, prohibition to same-sex marriage, which limited marriage to the union of one man and one woman. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in our favour in response to a series of "reference questions" in November 2004. Now parliamentarians have enacted Bill C-38 to make ssm law across the land. The bill became law July 20, 2005. There are now five countries in the world where you can wed as a same-sex couple: The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa (law has passed, but weddings deferred one year; begin Dec 06). As well, it is at least temporarily legal in the US state of Massachusetts. There are residency requirements in The Netherlands, Belgium and Massachusetts. There are no residency requirements in Canada or Spain. We are not yet certain about South Africa. The history: 8 BC couples (represented on this site) plus one Quebec couple, plus 10 couples in Ontario took the federal government to court to fight for equality rights in marriage. Most rulings from the lower courts were postive; the provincial appeals courts were entirely positive, and ruled that the law must be changed effective July 12, 2004. But then the Ontario appeal court ruled on June 10 2003, and could find no good reason to delay the implementation any longer.  They ruled that effective immediately, the MCCT church weddings from 2001 were to be registered, and that any same-sex couple wishing to marry in Ontario could do so at once.  Michael Stark and Michael Leshner, litigants in the Ontario case, were the first couple to wed.  Here in BC, we were ecstatic!  But it didn't take long for reality to nose around the Rockies.  Couples were flying in to Ontario from all over the U.S. (there is no residency requirement), from Cuba, from the UK, from China, yet our own 8 BC litigant couples, and our own Quebec litigant couple still could not wed without becoming freedom riders and traveling to Ontario. Our big question was how a changed federal law could apply only in one province.  Wasn't that like being a little bit pregnant?  Obviously, the law had changed in BC too, and several litigant couples decided to try (again) to get licences.  All were denied.  Tanya Chambers and Melinda Roy, and Jane Eaton Hamilton and Joy Masuhara, even tried at Vital Stats with the CTV cameras rolling.  But we were turned away.  One clerk asked, "If I gave you a marriage licence, what would you do with it?" We knew BC had never had any provincial bar to same-sex marriage-indeed Vital Stats had, in 2000, jump-started the case by taking the federal government to court to see if there was a federal bar or whether they ought to just go ahead and issue licences.  We knew there was no longer any federal bar.  So why weren't provinces other than Ontario letting us marry?  There was no good answer.  The situation had never presented itself before, and the provinces, in interpreting the decision so narrowly, were making sure not to upset residents.  Wait for the feds to bring in legislation seemed to be the chorus. But would the federal government appeal to Canada's supreme court?  These were uneasy days for gays and lesbians.  Would they ask for a stay and nullify the marriages that had already taken place?  If BC queers flew to Ontario, would our marriages be recognized here?  What if we spent all that cash and the government reneged on our marriages? The first BC litigant couple to wed, and possibly the first BC couple to wed, were Dawn and Elizabeth Barbeau in a lovely garden ceremony on June 21 2003 in Toronto. Tanya Chambers and Melinda Roy, and Jane Eaton Hamilton and Joy Masuhara, had always said they would marry the day-the hour-it became legal to do so, but now it was legal in Ontario.  They decided to fly there and accomplish the deed before the government could renege.  But then it turned out that Jane had to jump through some ridiculous hoops because she had been divorced, 25 years earlier, in the US.  This was considered a "foreign divorce" and Ontario had strictures around it.  (How frustrating that BC, where we could not wed, did not.  In BC all that is asked is a negative response to "Have you been divorced in the last 31 days?")  It took about ten days, a lot of money and a lot of phonecalls to prep the necessary paperwork, and by the time that was all through, Kathleen Lahey, the lawyer for the BC Partners, had decided to petition the BC Appeal Court to reopen our appeal with regard to remedy.  Since it was very nearly the end of June by the time Jane's paperwork was through, the two litigant couples decided to fly to Toronto for Pride weekend.  Toronto's City Hall was staying open over the weekend to issue licences; Kathleen Lahey secured the services of a judge to marry the four at the courthouse on Sat. June 28 2003.  Airline tickets were purchased; hotels and cars booked.  In an unprecedented move, the BC Appeal Court agreed to reopen our case while we were in Toronto.  Quickly, the federal government decided not to oppose, while the BC government refused to state a position.  Tanya and Melinda Chambers-Roy, and Jane Eaton Hamilton and Etsuko Joy Masuhara, wed at 2 pm June 28 2003 after being up all night on the red-eye.  The wedding was filmed by Tokyo TV for broadcast in Japan.  The following week, we waited for Egale's paperwork to be submitted.  We needed a couple willing to marry if, as expected, the Appeal Court ruled in our favour.  Peter Cook and Murray Warren, Lloyd Thornhill and Bob Peacock, Robin Roberts and Diana Denny had all decided to wait until the summer of 2004 in order to be able to properly plan.  Tess Healy and Wendy Young hadn't decided on a date, and Dave Shortt and Shane McCloskey were out of town.  Jane called several eager couples, and finally Tom Graff and Antony Porcino, gardening and artistic friends, agreed to be the premiere couple.  On July 8, 2003, with several of the litigant couples in attendance, the BC Appeal Court lifted the suspension and same-sex couples in BC were free to marry.  It was a wonderful moment!  Tom and Antony ran to Vital Stats to get their licence and were married under the statue of Justice on the courthouse steps by Rev. Tim Stevenson who had officiated at their commitment ceremony 7 years earlier.  Martin Cauchon, the then Justice Minister, told provinces to go ahead and start marrying same-sex couples, but no other provinces did.  Then Prime Minister Jean Chretien came out strongly in favour.  The government decided to introduce legislation changing the definition of marriage to "two persons."  They submitted a "reference" to the Supreme Court of Canada essentially asking if what they were doing was constitutional.  The fireworks began.  MPs and private citizens decried the speed and means by which this had come to pass, claiming that Canada was being run by activist judges, seeming to forget that parliament had put judges in charge of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that a law instituted by judges ("one man, one woman") could ONLY be changed by judges.  The Pope issued an edict telling Catholic politicians to vote according to their faith, and a bishop said publicly that the Prime Minister was putting his "eternal salvation" at risk.  Still, neither Cauchon nor Chrétien backed down, instead entrenching their support of same-sex marriage.  The religious right, which had had unlimited say in all the court cases, decided they had not been heard.  They began to barrage politicians with their negative views, and MPs began to get scared they wouldn't be reelected.  Support for same-sex marriages, riding about 58% in the polls, dropped to 49%. In June of 2004, Canada had a federal election, and the Liberals, now under Paul Martin (Justice Minister Irwin Cotler) returned with a minority government. Martin added a fourth reference question to the Supreme Court, one our side argued was a back-door appeal and shouldn't be answered. In October 2004, the Supreme Court heard the case, and in November of 2004, they ruled in our favour, including refusing the answer the 4th., improperly put, question. In the spring of 2005, Bill c-38 went before the parliament in a topsy-turvy and vituperous session, with alliances between parties several times threatening to topple the government and kill the bill. But in the end we were victorious and won the House votes and the passage through the Senate. The new Conservative minority government couldn't leave well enough alone, and had a vote in the House of Commons about whether or not to reopen the issue of same-sex marriage. This vote occurred in December 2006 and was soundly defeated. Same-sex marriage is in Canada to stay. As a placard at Toronto's Pride in 2003 said, "We won, they lost." Long may our wins continue, and our marriages grow stronger. --updated Feb 17, 2007

San Francisco City Hall Jane and Joy at Vancouver Pride Svend

Same-sex Marriage