Parliament's Pulse on Same-Sex Marriage

It is a comfort to know that, if Parliament survives that long, same-sex marriage is highly likely to pass. Yesterday's vote on a Conservative motion to kill the bill was defeated by a margin of 164 to 132. This was roughly what had been predicted at the tracking site www.marriagevote.ca. There were almost no surprises whatsoever in terms of who voted in favour and against the bill.

Although there were few surprises, I would like to single out a few individuals that I think deserve particular praise. First, the four Conservatives who stuck to their guns and voted against their party's motion. Thank-you Belinda Stronach, Jim Prentice, James Moore and Gerald Keddy for having the courage to stand up for your convictions. I would also like to thank NDP member Bev Desjarlais for abstaining on the motion. If you cannot bring yourself to support your party's stated position on this issue, then abstaining is a defensible stance, and I can live with that.

More broadly speaking, I am pleased that the Bloc did deliver on their promise to support Bill C-38, and that most Liberals did as well. As for those who didn't, how long is it going to be before such dinosaurs as Tom Wappel, Pat O'Brien, Dan McTeague, Roger Gallaway and their ilk are finally denied the right to run as Liberals? They certainly seem to be out of step with the rest of their party on virtually every social issue conceivable, and are an embarrasment in election years.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that Parliament survives long enough to pass Bill C-38. I'd like to have my marriage recognized by federal law.

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