B.C. COURT OF APPEAL RULES IN FAVOUR OF HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE

VANCOUVER, May 1, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An NDP-appointed judge on the B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled that laws outlawing homosexual marriage are discriminatory, and gave the federal government until July 12, 2004 to allow homosexuals to legally marry.  Justice Kenneth J. Smith ordered Ottawa to rewrite federal law to say: “The lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others,” eliminating any reference to “man” and “woman.” Smith was appointed to the British Columbia Supreme Court in 1993 by former New Democratic Premier Mike Harcourt, and raised to the Court of Appeal in 2001 by former NDP premier Ujjal Dosanjh.  Meanwhile, federal government lawyers are challenging an Ontario lower court ruling that found traditional marriage to be unconstitutional because it excludes homosexuals. Roslyn Levine, representing the Attorney General of Canada, has argued that, “Marriage is not simply a shopping list of functional attributes, but a unique, opposite-sex bond that is common across different times, cultures and religions as a virtually universal norm. … In effect, marriage is not truly a common-law concept, but one that predates our legal framework, through its long existence outside of it.”  For newswire coverage of the BC Appeal Court ruling:  https://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2003/05/01/77190-cp.html