On June 11, the highest court in Ontario, Canada, ruled that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry — immediately. The case marked the final appeal for the government in a lawsuit by seven Canadian same-sex couples seeking the right to marry. The court also ruled that two other couples who had been married under the ancient Christian tradition of banns should be given civil-marriage certificates. (In Ontario, there are two ways to get married. A couple can get a civil-marriage certificate or engage in the practice of banns — which, until the 1950s, was the only way a couple could get married in Ontario. To marry this way, one’s church must publish the couple’s intent to marry three Sundays in a row. By the fourth Sunday, if no one has objected, the ceremony takes place and the couple is legally married.) Kevin Bourassa and his partner, Joe Varnell, were married in their church in 2001 after its legal counsel had researched whether a same-sex couple could be married this way. Given that there was no mention of gender in the church’s protocol, the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto concluded that it could marry gay or lesbian couples. Which is what it did, issuing marriage certificates to the couples. Although these marriages were never recognized as legal by the state until the June 11 ruling, Bourassa and Varnell wrote a book about their battle to marry, titled Just Married: Gay Marriage and the Expansion of Human Rights (University of Wisconsin Press, 2002). The Phoenix recently spoke with Bourassa.

Q: All the reports here in the States about the ruling have simply talked about what the court decided. There’s been very little coverage of how the public in general is reacting. Are most people in Canada in favor of this? Is the country split? What was the reaction to the ruling?

A: I would say that both sides have been responding with disbelief. They just can’t believe they woke up and suddenly it’s there — and that goes for everyone. Everyone’s asking, " Is this accurate? " This doesn’t compare to Belgium [which permits gay couples to marry but specifically bars them from adopting children] and the Netherlands [which grants gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couples but prevents them from adopting children from overseas]. This is full and equal marriage with no reservations. There’s nothing at all separate or different. So there was a great deal of confusion and disbelief at first.

There’s extreme elation and jubilance even among people who were formerly neutral to same-sex marriage.... The Catholic Church, which has been one of our larger opponents in court, as well as the evangelicals, who were linking same-sex marriage to bestiality [and] to sex with babies, incest, polygamy, and saying we were like alcoholics suffering from a disease that could be cured with tough love, these people have been very muted, in my opinion, in the face of what must be for them an incredibly devastating blow.

Q: Has there been a rush on city halls by gay couples to marry?

A: Oh, yes. But there’s been confusion, too. Not every city you go to will issue a license right now. They will within the next 24 hours or so [by Saturday, June 14] because by then they’ll be in contempt of court. Of course, they’ll all comply, they don’t have a choice. It’s a very serious thing to ignore a court order.

Couples have been coming from the States, from all over. You can be sure that not all of them are doing this for purely romantic reasons. They want that recognition in their own state or country, and we’re stressing to people that getting married is not like signing a petition for equal marriage. If that marriage is to be dissolved, one of the spouses has to live in Ontario for a year before they can dissolve the marriage.

Q: Do you think mainstream Canadian society is ready for this?

A: I don’t think anyone is ready for this kind of change, but when it happens it’s very exciting and positive and people will adjust. It will come through further education. We’ve won in the court of law, we can’t really say we’ve won in the court of opinion yet. That will take more time. I think we have to reach out to those who have fought us so hard. We live in the same community. Joe and I personally do not wish to take the victory and walk away off the court. We have to do some more work with those who have opposed us and move from tolerance to true acceptance.

Q: I know you were married two years ago, but do you feel any different with the ruling, now that it’s legal without question?

A: We’ve had our wedding rings on for two and a half years. So the ring is quite accustomed to the finger. But I do feel different, and I know Joe does. We’re very proud.