When I graduated from Burnaby North Secondary School in 1969, homosexuality was a criminal offence. I could have gone to jail if I made love with another man. On June 28, the final barrier to full equality for gay and lesbian people in Canada was eliminated, with the vote of 158 MPs to extend equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples such as me and my partner Max.

How has this remarkable transformation happened in Canada, making us the most advanced country in the world in recognizing the equality rights of gay and lesbian people? It has not been an easy journey and, as I watched the vote on television with tears of joy flowing down my cheeks, I thought of some of those who could not savour this magical moment, but who did so much to make it possible — people like Jim Egan and his partner of over 40 years, Jack Nesbitt, who fought with courage and tenacity all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada for the legal recognition of their relationship.

While they did not win total victory, the court did rule in 1995 that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms must be read as including “sexual orientation” among the prohibited grounds of discrimination set out in Section 15, the equality rights section. This led to a series of court decisions recognizing and affirming the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Canada to be free of discrimination.

Almost every step of the way, elected representatives had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to accept equality. Indeed, when I moved an amendment to the Charter, as a member of the historic committee that wrote the Constitution in 1981, to have the words “sexual orientation” added to Section 15, it was defeated by a vote of 22-2, with only my NDP colleague Lorne Nystrom joining me in support. I will never forget the words of Conservative critic Jake Epp, who dismissed the proposal by saying that we shouldn’t try to include every “barnacle and eavestrough” in the Constitution. But, we achieved a victory in leaving Section 15 open-ended, allowing for new grounds to be included in the future.

In 1985, another Parliamentary committee on which I sat, chaired by Conservative MP Patrick Boyer, unanimously recommended after cross-Canada public hearings that the Charter be interpreted to include protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, and that my bill to amend federal human rights legislation be supported. Remarkably, the following year Conservative justice minister John Crosbie accepted our recommendation, promising that the government would take whatever measures necessary to “ensure that sexual orientation is a prohibited ground of discrimination in all areas of federal jurisdiction.”

The key breakthrough came in 1986 with the decision of the Mulroney Conservatives not to challenge in the Courts the inclusion of “sexual orientation” in Section 15 of the Charter. No government that followed would dare to reverse that precedent, and the Courts proceeded to strike down discriminatory laws and policies. But, it would take another decade, and a change of government, until finally, in 1996, Jean Chrétien’s Liberals amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to include “sexual orientation.”

As we celebrate this tremendous victory, we should pay tribute to those brave gay and lesbian couples who put their relationships in the public eye to fight for change and, along with their legal counsel, made a huge difference. We should also recognize activists in EGALE and other groups, along with those in the labour movement, friends in faith communities and other progressive leaders, allies in the academic world and in arts and cultural communities, and politicians who had the courage to speak out for equality.

As Max and I walk with pride this month at the Vancouver Pride Parade, along with thousands of gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgendered and straight folks, we will feel a special sense of pride in knowing that for the first time, our lives and our love are recognized and celebrated as being fully equal in our chosen country. For that, we and so many others, say a fervent and heartfelt “thank you” to the 158 elected men and women who voted in support of equal-marriage rights.