Washington, D.C. -
Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean says American same-sex couples who go to Canada to marry should have their unions recognized at home.
Speaking Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" program the former Vermont Governor said those couples who marry should receive the same rights as heterosexual couples.
"If a couple goes to Canada and gets married, when they come back they should have exactly the same legal rights as every other American," the former Vermont governor said.
As governor Dean signed into law Vermont's civil unions legislation making the state the first in the US to give gay and lesbian couples many of the rights of marriage. Domestic partnerships are now recognized in California and Hawaii as well.
Dean said that if elected president, he would not seek a federal law recognizing gay couples, but would use the presidential bully pulpit to pressure the states to do so.
"I would insist that every state find a way to recognize the same legal rights for gay couples as they do for everybody else," he said.
37 states have passed laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
June 10, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that preventing gays from marrying in the province was a violation of the Canadian Constitution.
Last week, Prime Minister Jean Chretien said his government would not appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada allowing the Ontario ruling to stand. Chretien said the government would introduce a bill, likely this fall, to extend gay marriage across the country.
Ontario has no residency requirement for issuing marriage licenses. As a result dozens of American couples have been arriving in Ontario border cities to get get married. (365gay.com: What You Need To Get Married In Canada)
Dean returns to Vermont today to officially launch his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Dean, 54, will launch the campaign on a downtown street in his adopted hometown of Burlington, where the doctor and former five-term governor will offer his vision for the campaign but no new policy proposals.
Eight other Democrats are also seeking their party's nod to challenge George W. Bush in 2004.
by Paul Johnson
365Gay.com Newscenter
Washington Bureau Chief
©365Gay.com® 2003
Speaking Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" program the former Vermont Governor said those couples who marry should receive the same rights as heterosexual couples.
"If a couple goes to Canada and gets married, when they come back they should have exactly the same legal rights as every other American," the former Vermont governor said.
As governor Dean signed into law Vermont's civil unions legislation making the state the first in the US to give gay and lesbian couples many of the rights of marriage. Domestic partnerships are now recognized in California and Hawaii as well.
Dean said that if elected president, he would not seek a federal law recognizing gay couples, but would use the presidential bully pulpit to pressure the states to do so.
"I would insist that every state find a way to recognize the same legal rights for gay couples as they do for everybody else," he said.
37 states have passed laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
June 10, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that preventing gays from marrying in the province was a violation of the Canadian Constitution.
Last week, Prime Minister Jean Chretien said his government would not appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada allowing the Ontario ruling to stand. Chretien said the government would introduce a bill, likely this fall, to extend gay marriage across the country.
Ontario has no residency requirement for issuing marriage licenses. As a result dozens of American couples have been arriving in Ontario border cities to get get married. (365gay.com: What You Need To Get Married In Canada)
Dean returns to Vermont today to officially launch his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Dean, 54, will launch the campaign on a downtown street in his adopted hometown of Burlington, where the doctor and former five-term governor will offer his vision for the campaign but no new policy proposals.
Eight other Democrats are also seeking their party's nod to challenge George W. Bush in 2004.
by Paul Johnson
365Gay.com Newscenter
Washington Bureau Chief
©365Gay.com® 2003
This article originally appeared on 365gay.com. Republished with permission.
