Same-sex bill threatens “marriage”
Many Christians disappointed by passage of Bill C-23
DOUG
KOOP
CW Editor
– Ottawa –
A lot of Christians were disappointed when Bill C-23 breezed through the House of Commons on the winds of a 174-72 vote last month. The bill, which will give gays and lesbians the same federal benefits as heterosexual common-law couples, is now before the Senate.
Many groups and countless individuals had written letters, signed petitions, showed up for demonstrations and appeared before committees to make sure the government was well aware of their deep concerns that these legal changes will undermine the institution of marriage.
While proceeding with the bill, the government did include an amendment that specifically guards the traditional definition of marriage. “We are grateful that the government has responded to strong and consistent voices which ask that the distinction between marriage and other relationships be maintained,” says Brendan O’Brien of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“The government must find ways to strengthen and protect marriage, which is an institution that is fundamental to the building up of our civilization,” adds O’Brien.
Others are more blunt. “The institution of marriage has been diminished in law so as to become indistinct from common-law and even homosexual relationships,” says Canada Family Action Council national affairs director Peter Stock.
“Marriage will come to be seen as legally meaningless as any two people who ‘shack up’ will be entitled to the same rights and benefits that married couples once exclusively enjoyed.”
That view is shared by Focus on the Family Canada president Darrel Reid, who calls the bill “an unprecedented attack upon marriage and the family” that will “eliminate all meaningful distinctions between marriage and same-sex relationships.”
Beyond definitions
While its language is softer, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada agrees. “The practical significance of Bill C-23 is that it will further legitimize common-law and same-sex unions. This reduces the importance of marriage in society,” says EFC legal counsel Janet Epp Buckingham.
Not every Christian group is taking the same line. “The bill will not lead to the downfall of marriage and family, which are much more than legal definitions,” says Harry Kits, executive director of Citizens for Public Justice. “But it does create a legal recognition of some other relationships in order to do justice and end discrimination.”
CPJ has long argued for new approaches to deal justly with gays and lesbians in committed relationships. “No matter how deeply we may agree or disagree on religious or ideological grounds with the different values or lifestyles of our neighbours, all people should have the legal right and freedom to live different ways,” says Kits.
For his part, Stock says “CFAC will continue to promote the truth that only marriage relationships should be supported and protected in law by the provision of rights and benefits. Marriage alone provides the best environment for raising children, and good public policy dictates that marriage alone deserves society’s blessing.”