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OTTAWA, June 29, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Civil Rights League predicts that the vote to pass the same-sex ‘marriage’ bill in parliament yesterday will result in numerous court cases and complaints to human rights tribunals, as well as challenges to the charitable status of institutions that uphold the traditional definition of marriage.

“The rights of marriage commissioners to refuse to perform these marriages, the rights of Church organizations to control the use of their properties, the rights of parents and school teachers to address what is taught in family life programs, are just some of the problems that are going to land in courts and human rights’ tribunals because of this law,” said Phil Horgan, president of the CCRL.

“The federal government has adopted a definition of marriage that radically devalues what marriage really is. By denying the complementarity of male and female and ignoring the procreative ability of true marriage, the courts and federal government have adopted an adult-oriented definition of marriage, whereas in fact true marriage is ultimately a child-centered institution. Virtually all the research confirms that children have the best outcomes when raised in two-parent, mother and father families, other factors being equal.”

While acknowledging that C-38 included amendments to strengthen freedom of religion and freedom of expression in its application, Mr. Horgan said these clauses are all but meaningless since most of the application issues fall under provincial jurisdiction.

“An election will be called in the near future,” said Mr. Horgan. “Politicians who voted in favour of this bill will be held accountable. Canadians will remain faithful to their strongly held beliefs, and will support those politicians who recognize that Bill C-38 is a very destructive piece of legislation for family life and religious freedom both now and in the future.”

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