Legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada [Just Married: Gay Marriage and the Expansion of Human Rights]

• Published in: Books in Canada Vol. 31; no. 6; p. 34
• Main Authors: Bourassa, Kevin, Varnell, Joe, Parks, Joy
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Toronto Canadian Review of Books Ltd 01.09.2002
• Subjects: Gays & lesbians; Legal aspects; Rights; Same sex marriage
• ISSN: 0045-2564

For this reason, it seems wise that Just Married approaches the legalization of same-sex marriage as a civil rights issue. Bourassa and Varnell argue that denying gays and lesbians the right to marry is the denial of a basic right. Through this approach, readers are forced to look at the kind of prejudice, hatred and fear that still exists towards gays and lesbians, from the outright hate crimes practiced by terrified religious leaders to fence-sitting politicians who nervously wait for the courts to do their job. It bravely bares the underlying bigotry and hypocrisy of clergy who fear that the noble institution of holy matrimony will be sullied and the family unit felled if same-sex unions become legal. And it portrays so-called Liberal politicians as cowards, unwilling to expand the definition of marriage for fear of being punished for their loose morality in the polls. Just Married clearly acknowledges that as a society, we should be beyond the point of asking whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry; instead the book asks how a significant percentage of Canadians can be openly denied this basic legal right in a just and tolerant society. In addition to fending off resistance from the mainstream, Bourassa and Varnell are well aware that there is also opposition to same-sex marriage within the gay community. Many gay activists view marriage as a means of normalizing and controlling the behavior of gays and lesbians, one more axe chipping away at a disappearing gay culture. Some argue that gays and lesbians who want to marry are assimilationists, conformists desperately seeking the acceptance of straight society by any means. By positioning the ban against same-sex marriage as the denial of a civil right, Bourassa and Varnell manage to tread lightly on this divide that exists within the gay community.