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Email: "ONTARIO COURT ORDERS RECOGNITION OF HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE"

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Charter of Rights and Freedoms Used Again to Impose Radical Change to Social Laws BY LifeSiteNews.com TORONTO, July 12, 2002 (LSN.ca)  In a unanimous decision today the Ontario Divisional Court ruled that the traditional understanding of marriage as between one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others, is unconstitutional.  The 129-page ruling gave the provincial government 24 months to bring legislation in line with the ruling to permit homosexual marriage. The Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) says it is “disappointed and bewildered” by the decision.  The CCRL intervened in the case, and in similar applications brought in 2001 in British Columbia and Quebec, as part of a broad interfaith coalition with partners from Christian and non-Christian communities, representing the major faith groups in Canada. Without any reference to safeguards to be provided to religious institutions, and the deeply held conviction of most Canadians to the traditional understanding of marriage, the Court has found the traditional definition of marriage to be in breach of section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court’s decision stands in marked contrast to the October, 2001, decision of Mr. Justice Ian Pitfield of the British Columbia Supreme Court, which upheld the traditional definition of marriage.  CCRL Vice-President and Toronto lawyer Philip Horgan commented: “A particular concern is the failure of the Ontario Divisional Court to provide explicit protection to religious communities and other conscientious objectors to a definition of marriage which is sinful or which they would find objectionable. Marriage is a sacrament in the Catholic Church. The current decision, if allowed to stand, would engage religious denominations in potential litigation for the next generation in order to protect their most deeply held beliefs from further attack.” The CCRL release on the ruling says: “CCRL can only hope that the newly released Ontario decision will be appealed by the Minister of Justice to allow the Ontario Court of Appeal, and perhaps ultimately the Supreme Court of Canada, to review the merits of this decision, one that purports to engage a paradigm shift in our culture.”  See the full CCRL release on the ruling at:  http://ccrl.ca/action.html   See the CP coverage at:  http://www.canada.com/ottawa/story.asp?id={630965AD-BC82-406C-977D-717262D217CA} http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/ontario-court-orders-recognition-of-homosexual-marriage/

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