QUEBEC HOMOSEXUALS IN FIRST GAY “CIVIL MARRIAGE

MONTREAL, July 19, 2002 (LSN.ca) – The same day Premier Klein vowed to oppose homosexual marriage (see above), two Montreal men became the first same-sex couple in Quebec to be married under the province’s Civil Union Bill. The bill replaced the definition of marriage in the Civil Code as between “two persons,” instead of a man and a woman.  Roger Thibault and Theo Wouters perfunctorily exchanged rings and wedding vows at the Montreal Courthouse in front of family, friends and reporters. A deputy clerk then declared them legally joined in a civil union under the provisions of Bill 84, passed unanimously by the National Assembly on June 7. Messrs. Thibault and Wouters will now be extended many of the same spousal benefits and obligations of married heterosexual couples.  “If you had asked me when I was young whether I’d have a wedding like this someday, I would’ve never believed it,” Mr. Thibault said. “My sisters would’ve been so jealous.” Sherley Morin, the presiding official, said, “We have turned a page in the history of Quebec. Claude Potvin, an aide to Paul Bégin, the justice minister who tabled the legislation, added: “We are very happy for them.”  See link below:  https://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id={E11978D6-D157-489D-86BA-20EF6D641129}