Monday, April 30, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Union
This Monday I attended my first gay marriage. It was a small, simple ceremony in an unremarkable room in the concrete tower of bureaucracy known as Toronto City Hall. A few close friends attended. A black minister in a grey academic gown presided. Vows were exchanged, rings were worn and signatures were placed on a beige piece of paper. One of those signatures happened to be mine, as a witness. V & K were united in matrimony in the eyes of the law. It took all of 15 minutes.
The fact wasn't lost on me that the piece of paper represented many years of struggle and countless hours of hard work by thousands of people across Canada and the world. It's a treasured manifestation of the equality principles enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights. Yet, it all seemed so anti-climactic. Specially after living through the endless debates on this topic in the US. It felt good to live in a jurisdiction that has turned gay marriage into a routine bureaucratic procedure.
As a side effect, the experience certainly made marriage feel a lot less intimidating. I feel encouraged to give it a try someday. Accepting applications now ;-)
The fact wasn't lost on me that the piece of paper represented many years of struggle and countless hours of hard work by thousands of people across Canada and the world. It's a treasured manifestation of the equality principles enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights. Yet, it all seemed so anti-climactic. Specially after living through the endless debates on this topic in the US. It felt good to live in a jurisdiction that has turned gay marriage into a routine bureaucratic procedure.
As a side effect, the experience certainly made marriage feel a lot less intimidating. I feel encouraged to give it a try someday. Accepting applications now ;-)
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