Equal marriage: One year later, Canadians have moved on
Published by Patrick July 4th, 2006 in Pride Tags: equal-marriage, Pride.On June 28, 2005, the House of Commons passed Bill C-38 by a vote of 158 to 133, marking the end of one of the longest and most thorough debates MPs have ever had. The Senate passed the bill on July 19 and it became law on July 20, 2005.
One year later, Canadians have largely moved on. Canadians for Equal Marriage commissioned Environics Research to conduct a poll asking Canadians whether they support equal marriage and whether they wish to re-open the equal marriage debate.
By a more than a 2 to 1 margin, Canadians who expressed an opinion consider this matter settled and are against having another vote. Even a majority of Conservative voters (52%) are against re-opening, while only 38% want to re-open the issue and 10% did not express an opinion.
The poll also asked whether “same-sex couples should have the same right to civil marriage as opposite-sex couples.” 59% of all respondents agreed, only 33% disagreed and 8% did not express an opinion.
In response, a June 20 Globe and Mail editorial titled “Really, get past it” said of the CEM poll: “Fairly worded questions, and the answers were clear… Mr. Harper is raising an issue that most Canadians see no need to revisit. Take it off the agenda.”
For more details, visit equal-marriage.ca.