STATE TAKING SIDES: From the Canadian Catholic News

Passage of the federal government's same-sex marriage law would mean the state is "taking sides" in the debate between two competing views of marriage, says a McGill University professor.

Daniel Cere told the special legislative committee studying Bill C-38 that the bill needs to allow people who hold the traditional understanding of marriage to continue to express their views.

Cere said passage of Bill C-38 would mean the "close personal relationship" view of marriage would "win" against the view of marriage as a heterosexual social institution for the procreation and raising of children.

"By dismissing the biological bond of conjugal marriage and making family diversity the fundamental norm that must be promoted, the state sets itself up against the ideal of the intact family.

"What about those many areas of federal jurisdiction that the government could have offered a few tangible safeguards: charitable status, communications, academic freedom, freedom to profess and promote the historic conception of marriage in the public sphere?" he asked. "Not a whisper."

Cere suggested the bill's preamble remove references that suggest the traditional view of marriage is discriminatory, and include an acknowledgement that many Canadians hold a differing view of marriage and that these are "legally valid but competing conceptions."

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