More than 20 local same-sex couples had a rally at City Hall to honor gay marriage in Canada. Photo: GRCC.
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By Joelle L. Quartini
Friday, June 06, 2008
New York couple Edie Windsor, 78, and Thea Spyer, 76, have been together for 42 years, but only married for one. The two women have lived together as spouses, but couldn’t get married until they traveled to Ontario in May 2007.
Last weekend, they joined nearly 20 other same-sex couples on the steps of City Hall to mark a milestone that made their marriage possible: Canada legalized gay marriage five years ago. Each couple at the rally carried their marriage license in to honor the half-decade.
Since 2003, hundreds of New York couples have trekked to our northern neighbor to be recognized as spouses.
“We always thought we were [married], but the difference is amazing, and it cannot be described,” Windsor said about finally being married, which was purely symbolic for the couple.
The group was joined by Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell and a representative from Sen. Tom Duane’s office, (both lawmakers are openly gay). The rally also honored the first openly gay Canadian judge, Justice Harvey Brownstone, who has been performing same-sex marriages for more than five years.
Canada’s same-sex marriage laws have been cited in both the Massachusetts and California court decisions that legalized gay married in those states.
“It’s very gratifying to know that Canadian notions of equality and dignity have wings,” Brownstone said.
He has performed nearly 1,000 same-sex marriages, more than any other judge in Canada. He married Windsor and Spyer, along with Tom Moulton and Brendan Fay, co-founder of the Civil Marriage Trail, which helps local same-sex couples organize their trip to Canada to get married.
Of the couples that Brownstone has united, one third have been American, one third from other countries and one third from Canada.
Fay also organized last weekend’s Marriage Rally at City Hall. Nearly 100 people attended, telling their stories and voicing their support of marriage in Canada.
In February, a New York Appeals Court ruled that a lesbian couple’s marriage in Canada should be recognized by New York State, reaffirming that same-sex marriages performed in Canada are also valid in New York.
And on May 14, Governor David Paterson directed all state agencies to follow that court ruling, which means that New York State will recognize the valid out-of-state marriage licenses of same-sex couples.
However, New York couples cannot get married in Massachusettes because that state will only wed couples if their unions are allowed in their home state. California doesn’t require that; nor does that state a residency requirement.
In addition to Canada and California, a handful of countries have legalized gay marriage, including Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa.
“I look forward to—and the day may come soon—when New Yorkers don’t have to travel out of the country for legal marriage, when we can walk or ride the subway or take a limo to get married,” Fay said.
Since the California marriage ruling, all of the New York couples Brownstone had booked to marry in Canada have cancelled to go to California.
Legal experts warn against rushing to the Golden State—at least until after November, when Californians will vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. If the ban passes, gay marriages performed there could be in limbo.
Brownstone himself has been married to his partner of 23 years since 2006, when 35 Canadian judges attended the wedding. He wanted them “to feel the love in the room, the acceptance, the transformation that occurs when you are legal spouses,” in order to help people better understand the importance of same-sex marriage.
“We really are able to achieve equality if you give people time and don’t put religion into it,” Brownstone said. There was a strong public debate when same-sex marriage began, but people gained a comfort level over the next year when they saw that it didn’t affect their lives.
“To people who think we are a threat, Go to a family court and see the carnage that heterosexual couples have left of marriage, and then tell me what possible damage you think we can do,” Brownstone said. “I’m happy to report that the institution of marriage is just as secure as it was then. The divorce rate has not gone up, and heterosexuality is still alive and well.”
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