Thursday, July 15, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.
Yukon judge legalizes same-sex marriages
By The Associated Press
WHITEHORSE, Yukon Territory — Same-sex marriage became legal in the Yukon yesterday when a judge changed the territory's common-law definition of marriage to mean the voluntary union for life of two people to the exclusion of all others.
In a decision delivered to a packed Yukon Supreme Court hearing, Justice Peter McIntyre followed courts in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.
Previously, Yukon common law had limited marriage to a union between a man and a woman.
"The
common-law definition of marriage is unconstitutional," said McIntyre.
<snip>
Egale, the national gay and lesbian advocacy group, welcomed the decision.
"This ruling sends a message that governments across the country must now accept the charter right of same-sex couples to marry in a civil ceremony," said Egale's director of advocacy, Laurie Arron. "There is one law for the whole country, and that law includes same-sex couples. Governments who don't accept that are leaving themselves open to legal challenges and liability for costs."
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