The month of February is the month in which St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated.

St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers. The day is devoted, as we all know, to expressions of romantic love, complete with flowers, chocolates, cupids, and candlelit dinners. Hallmark makes a killing in gushy cards and florists everywhere positively bloom over the sweet sound of the cash registers’ cha-ching.

However, if you are gay or lesbian, this wonderfully sentimental, mushy, romantic day is generally perceived as not being for you. Kinda like the fine institution of matrimony.

Equal, or same-sex, marriage has been on the national agenda for some time now. We’ve heard from the Christian Right about how "marriage" is for heterosexuals and procreation and that lesbians and gay men should just bloody well leave it alone and do our own "thing"...what ever that might be.

Courts in both Ontario and BC have indicated that to deny same-sex couples the opportunity to marry is discriminatory and in violation of the Charter. Quebec has a different system in place, and same-sex civil unions have long been recognized as legal and valid there.

The Federal Government, first under Jean Chretien and now under Paul Martin, has repeatedly indicated they are in favour of equal marriage. Social conservatives in Canada have been having apoplexy over the idea. In order to satisfy all Canadians and to be seen as taking both sides of the issue seriously, the government posed a "reference" to the Supreme Court of Canada justices.

Originally, this reference consisted of three questions dealing with the constitutionality of granting same-sex couples the ability to marry. Under Paul Martin, the government has now added a fourth question: Would excluding same-sex couples from the institution of marriage be compatible with the Charter? Gay advocacy groups are not happy about the fourth question. Ironically, neither are social conservatives, as both factions see it as a delaying tactic and political ping-pong.

Throughout all this, the Liberals have maintained they are in favour of same-sex marriage and committed to it. The Supreme Court references are merely "guideposts" in the decision-making process.

What is not clear is whether or not the Federal Government will, in actual fact, pass the legislation or, if it goes to the Supreme Court the government will argue that excluding same-sex couples is contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Canadians For Equal Marriage Coalition (www.equal-marriage.ca) are organizing local events across Canada, much like the event Egale Canada organized last year whereby same-sex couples went to their respective licensing offices and tried to apply for a marriage license.

The Coalition is hoping various centres across Canada will do something "catchy" and "fun" on or around Valentine’s Day. The various events thus far organized are listed on another pro-equal marriage website, www.samesexmarriage.ca.

Several events are already scheduled to occur. On February 15th, CBC News Sunday will have a live broadcast of the marriage of Douglass Drozdow-St. Christian, aged 50, and his partner Stephen Drozdow-St. Christian (33). The couple plans to shorten their hyphenated surname to "St. Christian" after their marriage.

In Victoria, there will be a celebration of BC’s equal-marriage rights at the fountain of the Victoria Conference Centre at noon on February 14th when a recently married couple (and fathers of two sons) will speak of their decision, and the spiritual and political reasons for equal-marriage rights.

In Ottawa, there will be a skating party along the Rideau Canal to Dow’s Lake, followed by a party in celebration of the Ontario couples who recently married.

In Toronto, an event called "Bitter Sweet" is taking place, with Mayor David Miller and Councillors Kyle Rae & Olivia Chow in attendance to present a special City Council honour to those couples instrumental in gaining the right to marry in Ontario. The gay chorus, Singing Out!, will perform, followed by a skating party. All the lesbian and gay couples who have married since the Ontario ruling, as well as all the engaged couples, are invited for "class pictures" that will be sent to Paul Martin as a belated Valentine’s.

While various advocacy groups were hoping for a resolution to this issue by April of this year, it now appears Canadians will have to wait until at least 2005 before it is resolved. In the meantime, it is important to keep the issue in the public eye.

Even if one chooses to not marry his guy, or her woman, this is an issue about choice and about equality. For the past 30 years, our communities have pushed for full inclusion in the civic life of our nation. We are not interested in being almost equal. We are not interested in some sort of latter day apartheid of separate but equal institutions like civil unions. What is being pushed for is very simple – full equality amongst all Canadians, regardless of gender, race, creed, physical characteristics, or sexual orientation. Anything less and Canada has no right to call itself a democracy.

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Contributor Stephen Lock |

Topic Politics | Marriage Equality |