Carol Soelberg Blog
Please Support Canada's Apology to the World for Legalizing Same-Sex 'Marriage'
Posted by Carol Soelberg | April 17, 2007
This week, we are applauding our Canadian affiliate, Restore Marriage, Canada!, along with 11 other pro-family organizations, for taking the bold step of issuing an apology to the world for their nation having legalized same-sex "marriage." Canadians can lend your name in support of their efforts by signing an online endorsement of the apology.
The text of the apology states: "We are grieved and troubled as we consider the impact this is having in weakening the fundamental institution of marriage in countries and cultures around the world. We understand that because Canada does not impose citizenship or residency requirements in order for same-sex individuals to be 'married' here, couples are coming to Canada to seek legal sanction for their homosexual relationships with the intent of returning to their own countries to challenge those countries' legal definition of marriage."
Canada has certainly taken a circuitous route to reach this point in its national marriage policy. In 1999, Canada's government supported the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. Six years later, in 2005, Parliament passed Bill C-38 legalizing same-sex "marriage." Last December, Parliament voted against re-visiting the marriage issue.
In announcing the apology, Grant Hill, a former member of Parliament and now affiliated with United Families Canada, stated that Canadians have a unique opportunity to support marriage and the family around the world even as they work to restore marriage at home:
It is essential that all of us who are pro-family and pro-marriage continue to oppose the action of the last government to legalize same-sex "marriage" in our country. We know that this action was taken in a completely irresponsible way. The government ignored and suppressed the overwhelming social science data and historical experience that demonstrates conclusively that legalizing same-sex "marriage" will have many negative consequences for our nation and for our society.
This is why we as Canadians have a responsibility to the world to explain just what happened here because our action in becoming only the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex "marriage" is having negative impacts far beyond our own borders.
Hill said Canadians have a reputation for careful and judicious policy making. "Clearly, that was not how this action was taken and we must correct any misconception about it."
In addition, Canada does not require that two individuals be Canadian citizens in order to marry there. Hill said, "This means that same-sex couples are coming to Canada to be married and then returning home to challenge their own country's marriage law limiting marriage to a man and a woman. We are seeing that in Ireland, Israel and in other countries. The simple and disturbing fact is that our Canadian same-sex 'marriage' law is undermining the institution of marriage in many other countries around the world besides here in Canada. We certainly owe the people of the world an apology for that!" Furthermore, Hill said:
Based on my experience serving in Parliament, I can assure you that something like this apology can be very valuable for an elected official in another country trying to defend marriage. It can be used to help focus attention on the real issues in the debate and on what is truly at stake. The publicity this apology can generate also can be very useful to pro-family groups around the world. They can use it to help alert their public to the dangers of legalizing same-sex marriage and in mobilizing public opposition to it.
Canadians plan to publicize the Apology to the World next month during the World Congress of Families IV in Warsaw, Poland.
Hill said, "This apology to the world is an initiative of United Families Canada and we want to send as large a United Families Canada delegation to Warsaw as we can to explain it to these delegates. We know that by explaining in detail what happened in Canada, we can help them better understand how to prevent the same thing happening in their own countries."
In order to support this effort to defend marriage on an international stage, you can safely and securely make a contribution online to a special Warsaw Conference Support Fund. All funds collected between now and the conference will be used to help send our delegation to Warsaw to publicize the apology and educate delegates.
Thank you for whatever you can do to help in this important effort!
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