Do you know anyone who got legally married knowing there was no possibility to legally divorce? My wife and I did. We were married by a Justice of the Peace in Canada (though they call them something else there). Canada extended its Charter of Rights and Freedoms to gay couples in 2003. Before that date, gay Canadians were second class citizens.Because gay Americans are still not equal under the law, our marriage is not recognized in our home country. We are joyously married but if we were not, there would be no mechanism for us to divorce here. Unless we were Canadian citizens or legal residents for over a year, we could not divorce in Canada either. We married knowing that it would not be possible for us to change our minds unless our elected leaders suddenly came to their senses and granted us our civil rights.
Thousands of gay couples have happily made the same permanent union in Canada. Bigots say our marriages are not "real". In an era when those like Brittany Spears get married and divorced as quickly as some people change their underwear, gay couples who legally marry are the only ones making lifetime commitments to one another.
