OTTAWA—The federal government is expected to take steps today to close a legal loophole that could have undermined thousands of gay marriages around the world.
The governing Conservatives are expected to detail changes to the Civil Marriage Act to ensure the marriages are recognized.
The changes are being prompted by a divorce case in Ontario involving a gay couple.
Legal documents filed by the federal government in the case had argued that even though the couple married in Canada, they couldn’t be considered legally married because it wasn’t recognized in their U.S. and United Kingdom homes.
Gay-rights activists and opposition politicians accused the Tories of trying to rewrite the rules on same-sex marriage to suit their own agenda.
But the government says its opinion is that the marriages were valid and it doesn’t want to reopen the debate on the definition of marriage.
A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says the situation raised by the case was an anomaly in civil marriage law and the changes will fix it.
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: The Canadian Press
The governing Conservatives are expected to detail changes to the Civil Marriage Act to ensure the marriages are recognized.
The changes are being prompted by a divorce case in Ontario involving a gay couple.
Legal documents filed by the federal government in the case had argued that even though the couple married in Canada, they couldn’t be considered legally married because it wasn’t recognized in their U.S. and United Kingdom homes.
Gay-rights activists and opposition politicians accused the Tories of trying to rewrite the rules on same-sex marriage to suit their own agenda.
But the government says its opinion is that the marriages were valid and it doesn’t want to reopen the debate on the definition of marriage.
A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says the situation raised by the case was an anomaly in civil marriage law and the changes will fix it.
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: The Canadian Press
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