JURIST - Paper Chase: Heterosexual marriage motion defeated in Canadian Parliament

In a vote Tuesday evening, Canadian Members of Parliament defeated an Opposition motion reaffirming the heterosexual definition of marriage by a vote of 137-132 according to a report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The motion read:

That, in the opinion of this House, it is necessary, in light of public debate around recent court decisions, to reaffirm that marriage is and should remain the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and that Parliament take all necessary steps within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada to preserve this definition of marriage in Canada.

The Canadian Liberal government announced its intent to legalize same-sex marriages this summer after an Ontario court ruling supporting their constitutionality. If that legislation passes, Canada will become the third country to recognize same-sex marriage after the Netherlands and Belgium. For more background, see Same-Sex Marriage: Canada, Europe and the United States, by Duke law professor Ralf Michaels.