According to today's National Post the federal government is worried that opening the door to same-sex marriage will possibly lead to polygamy.
Just weeks before it introduces divisive same-sex marriage legislation, the Martin government has launched an urgent study into the legal and social ramifications of polygamy.
Critics say the study underscores a deep concern in the federal government that legalized homosexual marriage may lead to constitutional challenges from minority groups who claim polygamy as a religious right.
It also suggests the government is suspicious that multiple marriage is more commonplace in Canada than is widely realized.
Polygamy, outlawed in Canada but accepted in many countries, typically means a man having several wives at the same time.
“In order to best prepare for possible debate surrounding Canada’s polygamy policy, critical research is needed,” a Status of Women Canada document says. “It is vital that researchers explore the impacts of polygamy on women and children and gender equality, as well as the challenges that polygamy presents to society.” Vic Toews, the Conservative party justice critic, said there is a direct link between the concern at Status of Women and the same-sex marriage legislation due to be introduced by the government next month.
Could somone please point me to the Canadian study that explores the impacts of same-sex marriage of women and children and gender equality (and heck, men while we are at it), as well as the challenges that same-sex marriage presents to society.
...But when same-sex marriage becomes legal, the door will open to more Charter challenges, Mr. Toews (Conservative) said. “Once you change the definition of marriage from one man and one woman, and you move to two persons, what then is the distinction between two persons, or three or more persons? If I was a lawyer defending polygamists, I’d say, ‘hey, this is a constitutional right, a freedom of religion.’ Why can’t freedom of religion trump this new definition of marriage?”
well, duh...
...Lawyer Peter Hogg, who argued the federal government’s case for same-sex marriage at the Supreme Court of Canada, said he doubts legalizing homosexual marriage will lead to legal challenges from polygamists. “We have to recognize that over time, society changes, and marriage changes to mirror the attitude, mores and needs of a particular society,” Mr. Hogg said. “If some kind of cataclysm occurred to make women far more numerous than men for a long period of time, then a significant movement might develop to change the institution of marriage to reflect that. But that is unlikely.”
So I guess that means while I wasn't looking a cataclysm occurred to make homosexuals far more numerous than heterosexuals. What kind of nonesense is that!
The fact that bigamy is a crime in Canada is also a huge obstacle for a polygamist launching a Charter of Rights challenge, he said.
What's your point? Sodomy used to be illegal as well. Un-constitutional trumps illegal everytime and besides the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation, right?
