|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
| |
|
|
"Activism
is my sister calling a radio station when all of the religous fundamentalists
are ranting and saying, 'Just a second, what about my brother? He has this
right!', and standing up to talk about that. I think that activism is something
that all of us can share in. That's been a lesson I've learned by becoming involved
in this. Activism can happen by speaking at the office coooler, raising an issue
in your school or congregation. My hope is that Joe and I are encouraging people
to do that."
"Marriage
is marriage. It's the gold standard in social acceptance, and it's mobile."
"Human
rights are indivisible," says Bourassa. "We don't think of this so much
as about our rights, but whether or not the government should have the right to
let one group be treated differently. Obviously, we don't think they should be
able to."
"You
have touched another, half a world away, and I am sure your win will contribute
to the precedent law over here."
Two
gay men who won an Ontario court battle to have their church wedding legally recognized
were "on Cloud 9" after arriving in London last night to celebrate Pride
Week.
"Thank
you for your courage in this difficult battle. I was thrilled to see you in the
London Pride parade. Thanks for sharing some of your time in the sun of public
interest."
"Depending
on what side of the fence you sit on, Joe Varnell
and Kevin Bourassa are human rights advocates or evil homosexuals threatening
the holy institution of marriage ... Racists may not have wanted to share a seat
at the front of the bus with Rosa Parks but after the laws were changed, they
had no choice. Neither men can say for sure what the outcome of the federal government's
appeal will be, but they are both sure there is no going back, and they're confident
it's only a matter of time before human rights win out over religious bigotry."
"Two
celebrities making the rounds of this year's Gay Pride parades across the country
are dressed neither in leather nor drag. They're wearing something else that pushes
the envelope - gold wedding bands."
"Your
undying refusal to be less employees, family members, citizens or husbands has
inspired me to see that there is no glass wall between me and society. You have
written that love can ensure the opposite - holding someone's hand can do that."
"Thanks
for writing 'Just Married' and sharing your experience with the world. I'm so
proud of you two that I can just burst. You've really made a major difference
in the lives of so many people, not just in Canada, but around the world."
"Statistics
Canada released its first snapshot of gay and lesbian lives in Canada on Tuesday,
but it's far from a complete picture."
"We
believe when Canadians start to talk about it, they will decide all families in
Canada are equal."
"Bourassa
and Varnell are conscious of their role in history, but also of the very personal
way their fight affects Canadians who hear about their story. They have heard
about teenagers in small-town Ontario who came out to their families after seeing
the couple on television - teenagers who had previously contemplated suicide because
of their sexual orientation."
|
2002
- The Year in Review Ultimately, the couple hopes that gay and lesbian people won't have to move to big cities and gay neighbourhoods to feel accepted and safe. "When you're a member of your community, the demonization can't happen," Varnell said. "You're not seen as 'that gay couple down the street', you're suddenly 'that nice John and Fred, or Susan and Elizabeth, down the street who look after our dog when we're on holidays.' Gays await court decision,
by Jason Tchir, The Toronto Sun, Dec. 27, 2002 There is no doubt that 2002 was a great year for the advancement of equal marriage for same-sex couples, and an amazing year of growth for both of us, as we finished our second year as human rights advocates. Success on the Internet
Enthusiasm on the road We travelled to Europe, the United States, and across Canada in 2002 where we met with a wide variety of groups and individuals, including lawyers, jurists, activists, unions, parents, academics, politicians, clergy and members of the media. In total, we travelled approximately 28,000 kilometers working for equality in 14 cities. Our speaking engagements included 9 universities and colleges (with additional repeat visits) in Canada and the U.S. Equal marriage in the media In 2002 we did over 85 interviews (not including press conferences and academic/student interviews) with accredited media organizations. Our work away from Toronto generated additional front-page coverage of the issues in Halifax, London, New Brunswick, Ottawa, and Sudbury. Our most significant contribution in the world of media was the publication of Just Married: Gay Marriage and the Expansion of Human Rights. After a year's effort, a hardcover edition was published in June by Doubleday in Canada and by the University of Wisconsin Press in the United States. Our first review was a cover story with excerpt in the Books section of the Globe and Mail. Victory in the courts The biggest event of the year, from the perspective of equal marriage, was the victory for equality in both Ontario and Quebec Courts! A strong message was sent around the world - a message that the government of Canada continues to resist. An appeal of the Ontario marriage case is scheduled for April 2003. More to be done While progress has been made, Canada still has a long way to go to diminish the engrained homophobia in our culture. A couple of opposition politicians felt compelled to appologize in Parliament for their remarks aimed at the sexual orientation of opponents. Such attitudes contribute to the atmosphere that fosters violence against the LGBT community. Another year passed without solving the 2001 murder of Aaron Webster and 2002 closed with the discovery of another murdered gay man in Ottawa. Some things don't change fast enough. Our hearts are with those who faced losses this year, our thanks to everyone who contributed to the tremendous accomplishments listed below, and our appreciation to our friends and family for their support as we begin our third year on the road to equality.
Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell It has been days since we were denied registration of our marriage documents. January 2002
The Law Commission of Canada's recommendations for equal marriage were made public. The Justice Minister does not heed his own advisors and continues the legal battle in defense of discrimination. February 2002 The
government of Quebec conducted public hearings
to help it determine how to end discrimination against same-sex couples and their
families. It was al A Valentine's concert by the Onyx Wind Quintet was the first opportunity in the year to raise funds for legal expenses in the Ontario marriage challenge. Volunteers from the civil case and the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto worked together to produce a memorable and successful evening. March 2002 Senator
Lois Wilson warned against Canada becoming a church-state as arguments over
same-sex marriage took place in the Senate. It was all over Bill S-9, an attempt
to defend With the Quebec government talking about civil unions, the judge in the Quebec marriage challenge ordered the case reopened in order to determine the impacts of this new development. On March 21 the Canadian Human Rights Commission called on the Canadian Liberal government to end marriage discrimination. April 2002
The Quebec government unveiled the anticipated civil union bill on April 25. The bill was a step forward - the best that a province could offer without federal cooperation - but still left marriage to opposite sex couples, ensuring the continuation of a legal battle. May 2002 Madame
Justice L’Heureux-Dubé retired from the Supreme Court of Canada
this year. At a dinne We joined the coalition for Marc Hall because faith-based arguments used to keep a same-sex couple from a prom are similar to the doctrine used to deny marriage to same-sex couples. Faith-based bigotry was defeated in a court decision to allow the prom date to continue. We took it as a good sign for our pending decision in the marriage case. Authentic Lives produced a rights awareness workshop on May 25 and donated proceeds to the Equal Marriage trust fund for legal expenses. June 2002
On
June 2 we travelled to Italy where we delivered a keynote address at a conference
on marriage, partnerships, and parenting. On
June 7, the evening of our speech, we learned that Quebec
approved the civil union bill. The room bro We were in Ottawa on June 10 and Montreal on June 11, talking with the media about our book and same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples and their children were the subject of a book banning case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada on June 12. Judgement is still pending, however, the indications were that the courts were not going to assist parents in promoting bigotry in the classroom. We finally made time to celebrate the publication of Just Married, on June 19.
July 2002 "We're no longer second-class
citizens in this country and the time has come for change. My relationship is
validated and nobody can say we're not a real family anymore." A landmark decision came from Ontario Court on July 12, when a three-justice panel agreed that the prohibition against same-sex marriage was unjustified discrimination. They gave the government two years to fix the problem.
On July 16, the Ontario government (Conservative party) announced it accepted the court's demand to end marriage discrimination, and it called on the Canadian (Liberal party) government to do the same. Manitoba did the same two days later. The federal government's own polls indicated growing support for same-sex marriage.
On July 30 the Public Service Alliance of Canada called for Canada to end marriage discrimination. August 2002
The Canadian
Federation of Students added their voice to On August 10 we marched for equal marriage in Sudbury, our final pride parade of the season. As always, we met with media and motivated members of the community who were ready to work for change. September 2002
Just Married: Gay Marriage and the Expansion of Human Rights was featured in the Ottawa International Writers Festival on September 21. We were pleased to be able to invite Kees Waaldijk to join us in a public discussion. October 2002
Equal Marriage advocates Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes (MCC Toronto marriages) and James Chamberlain (Book banning case involving same-sex parents and families) received the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for their ongoing service. November 2002
On Nov. 7, Canada's Justice Minister released a discussion paper in an attempt to formulate a response to the court victories for equal marriage. December 2002
Two decisions from the Supreme court were positive indicators that victories for same-sex marriage would continue to accumulate in Canadian court. First, the court decided that only married couples are automatically entitled to a 50/50 split if the relationship fails and second, the court ruled that a school board was wrong to ban books depicting same-sex parents. Year-end citations: The year in review (CBC) Judging the good and the bad of the past year (The Sault Star) | |
|
|  |
