Same-Sex Marriage: The Personal and the Political

John Stanley is a senior policy advisor in the Corporate Policy Branch
Management Board Secretariat, Government of Ontario. He is co-editor of
Nation and History: Polish Historians from the Enlightenment to the
Second World War.

In trying to address the year’s hottest political issue, this book
informs the debate over same-sex marriage in two ways: through a potted
history of the phenomenon and through a set of interviews with same-sex
couples who are now married. The approach is decidedly one-sided,
treating marriage as a fundamental civil right; although the debate
within the queer community over the value of marriage is far from
settled, the discussions that have arisen find little resonance in this
volume. While equality rights unite gays and lesbians, the notion of
marriage is not universally accepted. It speaks volumes that so many of
the same-sex marriages in Canada have been celebrated for foreign
visitors, not Canadians.

The volume is divided into two parts—a historical section by Kathleen
A. Lahey, a lesbian lawyer, and interviews by Kevin Alderson, a gay
academic and psychologist—that are only loosely linked. Unfortunately,
the two sections are not of equal weight. The first section is very much
U.S.-focused, and its historical treatment is superficial. Perhaps the
strongest point it communicates is that any type of union legally
recognizing same-sex couples outside of marriage is inherently
discriminatory in any rights-based legal jurisdiction. Lahey also
highlights the international importance of the Canadian judiciary in
moving this issue over the past two decades. Given Lahey’s profession,
she is on firm ground when discussing legal implications and court
cases.

On the other hand, Alderson’s interviews are quite revealing and
often moving. The interviews not only demonstrate how important this
issue is to the couples involved, but also bring out individual
personalities and the specific difficulties faced by each couple. While
most of the interviewed couples are Canadian, the interviews’ scope
ranges as far as the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and the United States.

While the timeliness of this volume is in its favour, the rush into
print has inevitably meant that events have passed it by. When it went
to press, courts in only three provinces had decreed that civil
officials had to carry out same-sex marriages. Just to focus on
developments in Canada, the count is now seven provinces and one
territory. Regardless of Ottawa’s action or inaction, the number is
sure to grow. Many of the questions left unanswered in the book have now
received a firm response, which the book inevitably does not reflect.

Whatever the book’s weaknesses, it represents a solid contribution to
the debate.