On this day in 2005, The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.
The Civil Marriage Act was introduced by Prime Minister Paul Martin’s Liberal minority government to the House of Commons of Canada on February 1, 2005, as Bill C-38. It was passed by the House of Commons on June 28, 2005, and by the Senate on July 19, 2005, it received royal assent the following day. Following the 2006 election, which was won by a Conservative minority government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the House of Commons defeated a motion to reopen the matter by a vote of 175 to 123 on December 7, 2006, effectively reaffirming the legislation. This was the third vote supporting same-sex marriage taken by three parliaments under three prime ministers.
This was great news for Shane and Ilya, Kip and Scott, and millions of other (real) Canadians!
(Source: Wikipedia)
