Canadian military has first gay wedding

It's nice to see that we've come a long way as a society, and accepts people for just who they are, and are a little less judgmental these days.

Canadian military has first gay wedding years after guidelines issued
at 18:28 on June 14, 2005, EST.
ALISON AULD

HALIFAX (CP) - The Canadian military has marked its first same-sex wedding, two years after the Defence Department issued guidelines on the contentious issue and more than a decade after gays were allowed to join the Forces.

Two servicemen, who do not want to be identified, exchanged vows May 3 at the chapel at Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, N.S., in front of 45 friends and a United Church minister. Lt.-Cmdr. David Greenwood, the base's head chaplain, helped arrange the ceremony but couldn't preside over it since he is an Anglican.

He said the fact the couple decided to hold their wedding at the military chapel might encourage others to step forward and make their vows official in a setting that not long ago had a policy of excluding them.

"I think there was a sense that many people thought they would never have seen something like this in their lifetimes - and not in a negative way, but in a positive way," Greenwood said Tuesday from his base office.

"So they might be able to provide some comfort and solace to someone who might be in fear or in peril."

The couple, one a sergeant and the other a warrant officer who are both in their late 30s, approached the chaplain about the possibility of holding the ceremony on the base. They went through a marriage preparation course and a United Church minister was found to conduct the service.

Greenwood said there was no resistance by military or religious officials to the wedding. He added it was simply a matter of time before someone made the request.

"It was something that I was very proud to be able to be involved in," he said after describing a service that included scriptural readings, gospel music and an exchange of rings.

The precedent-setting ceremony came two years after the Defence Department issued guidelines on the marriage of same-sex couples in the military. The policy states that "every chaplain in the branch will receive all couples who come to them - regardless of sexual orientation - with respect and dignity."

Chaplains who for reasons of conscience can't preside over a same-sex union must make arrangements to have someone else conduct the service.

Laurie Arron of Canadians for Equal Marriage praised the military for keeping pace with Canadian law and respecting the rights of its members, despite its history of banning homosexuals from service until 1992.

"It's been 13 years since the military opened its doors to gays and lesbians. It's been two years since same-sex couples could marry legally in Canada, so I guess my response would be it's about time," he said from his office in Ottawa.

"I think it just shows that same-sex couples getting married has become a part of Canadian life in all segments of society."

Greenwood said that when he joined the Forces 29 years ago, homosexuality "was seen as a mental defect and you were released."

"It was actually a reason for firing people, if they had homosexual tendencies," he said."

Most provinces and territories, with the exception of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, have legalized same-sex marriage. Two couples are reportedly taking a challenge to court in New Brunswick this week to fight for marriage licences.

Joanna Calder, a Defence spokeswoman, confirmed the Nova Scotia wedding as the first involving same-sex partners in the Canadian military.

The approach is in sharp contrast to the treatment of gays in the U.S. military, where they are subject to a policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," as introduced by then President Bill Clinton in 1993.

But the strategy is thought to have failed miserably since it has done little to protect the privacy of gays in the American military and led to some dismissals.