It was five years ago today that Martha McCarthy was at the Ontario Court of Appeal arguing for the legalization of gay marriage in Ontario. In a story on the Globe and Mail’s website today, she reflects on the groundbreaking Halpern case and how it changed our province and our country. When the decision came down on June 17, 2003, it had immediate effect. McCarthy recalls going to weddings of many clients, colleagues, and friends in the weeks that followed. She also recalls the backlash from anti-gay groups and the media saturation as the story was covered again and again. Five years later, it is estimated that 15,000 gay or lesbian couples have been married in Ontario. And this hasn’t lead to the “breakdown of the family” that the anti-gay lobby predicted, but rather has changed individual lives for the better.
An excerpt from the story:
The wedding stories are poignant and astonishing. I continue to be awed. I don’t want to leave the impression that discrimination has been eradicated, but things are just a little different. You can feel it in our cities. Not just on Church Street or Ste-Catherine, although you can feel it there, too. Yes, the pace of progress is slow, but today, on the fifth anniversary of Halpern, let’s just celebrate that it worked. The Charter is not just some academic document.
If you ever need to be reminded that law can drive amazing change, keep this article handy.
UPDATE: Martha McCarthy has kindly sent us this photo for the blog taken on June 29, 2005 – the day the same sex marriage bill passed in the House of Commons. Pictured above (from left): US activitist Evan Wolfson; Douglas Elliott, counsel for Metropolitan Community Church; Martha McCarthy; Rev Brent Hawkes, Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto.