Who's up for some MATH?!
The United States of America is a Constitution-based federal republic consisting of fifty states, one federal territory, and several other territories and commonwealths.
Of those fifty-one, only two recognize gay unions in some legal form. In New England, Vermont law calls for "marriage-lite" civil unions, and Massachusetts has legalized gay marriage.
2/51 x 100 = 3.92% of American primary political subdivisions recognizing homosexual unions through legal channels
Canada is an independent confederation within the Commonwealth of Nations, consisting of a parliamentary union of ten provinces and three federal territories.
Of those thirteen, three provinces (Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia) recognize legal homosexual marriages or unions.
Oh, wait. Make that three provinces and ONE TERRITORY! Yes, the Yukon Territory has joined the ranks. Let's crunch some numbers...
4/13 x 100 = 30.77% of Canadian primary political subdivisions recognizing homosexual unions through legal channels
It's still not a majority up north. But things seem to be improving faster there than down here. Once again, Canada gets a better score than the U.S.
[Thanks to Derwin for the happy news.]
Posted by James at July 15, 2004 11:11 PMwell, that's partly true! if you want to talk "civil unions", you'll have to include other provinces in Canada, like Alberta where i live, which makes them available to gay couples. it's basically marriage without the name. i think almost all provinces in canada have civil unions in some form, certainly more than half. and if you want to talk population-wise, ON, QB, BC, and YK make up about 75% of Canada's population. That's 75% of Canadians who have access to gay marriage. and to all you americans out there, don't fret, your day will come! people can only sustain their irrational arguments against gay marriage for so long (or at least i hope)
Posted by: d at July 16, 2004 02:25 PM