Congratulations to our neighbors north of the 49th parallel...!

TORONTO, June 17 -- Canada will change its law to allow homosexual marriage, joining Belgium and the Netherlands as the only countries where same-sex couples can legally wed, Prime Minister Jean Chretien said today.

According to the Washington Post article, opinion polls show a majority of Canadians support same-sex marriage. Dozens of gay Canadians have already obtained marriage licenses, and at least one wedding has taken place.

Canada's progressive move contrasts starkly with the increasingly puritanical US, where gay marriage remains illegal in all 50 states. (Vermont only recognizes civil unions that give gay couples the benefits and responsibilities of marriage.) To add insult to injury, in 1996 Congress passed the preposterously-named "Defense of Marriage Act," thereby monopolizing marriage for persons of the opposite sex.

True to its customary hypocrisy, the Religious Right supports "family values," only when its adherents can decide who constitutes a family.