Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2006-12-06 16:15:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Hon. Bill Graham",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"335743\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is a very serious one and it is one that all of us have looked at. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"335744\" data-originallang=\"en\">The hon. member mentioned his church. In my last speech in the House I mentioned that I am a member of the Anglican Church. My church has a very active debate going on about whether or not, from a religious perspective, my church would participate in such marriages. I know that other churches, like the United Church, have said that they will perform such marriages. We know that within religious groups in our country there are differing views.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"335745\" data-originallang=\"en\">However, I would respectfully suggest to the hon. member, as was suggested in the question by his colleague, that predictions that this would be a threat to traditional marriage have not turned out to be right. The divorce rates in this country among heterosexual couples are not related to the fact that we have allowed gay and lesbian marriages. Anyone who would pretend otherwise would be absolutely crazy, any more than it can be claimed that the alarming divorce rates, some would say, are a direct result of the fact that we have recognized common-law relationships over the years. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"335746\" data-originallang=\"en\">The same people came to committee and said that this would do to traditional marriage what common-law relationships would do and I suggest one cannot draw that link. It is just not there.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"335743\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, le d\u00e9put\u00e9 a soulev\u00e9 une question pr\u00e9occupante sur laquelle nous devrions tous nous pencher.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"335744\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Le d\u00e9put\u00e9 a mentionn\u00e9 son \u00c9glise. Dans mon dernier discours \u00e0 la Chambre, j\u2019ai mentionn\u00e9 que je suis membre de l\u2019\u00c9glise anglicane. Il y a actuellement un intense d\u00e9bat au sein de mon \u00c9glise quant \u00e0 savoir si elle doit prendre part \u00e0 ce genre de mariages, du point de vue religieux. Je sais que d\u2019autres \u00c9glises comme l\u2019\u00c9glise unie ont dit qu\u2019elles c\u00e9l\u00e8breraient ces mariages. Nous savons que les points de vue divergent au sein des diff\u00e9rentes confessions religieuses de notre pays.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"335745\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Je ferais toutefois respectueusement valoir au d\u00e9put\u00e9, comme l\u2019a sugg\u00e9r\u00e9 son coll\u00e8gue dans sa question, que les pr\u00e9dictions selon lesquelles le mariage traditionnel allait s\u2019en trouver menac\u00e9 ne se sont pas mat\u00e9rialis\u00e9es. Le taux de divorce chez les couples h\u00e9t\u00e9rosexuels n\u2019a rien \u00e0 voir avec le fait que nous avons autoris\u00e9 les mariages homosexuels. Quiconque irait pr\u00e9tendre le contraire serait totalement d\u00e9raisonnable, tout comme quiconque pr\u00e9tend que le taux alarmant de divorces r\u00e9sulte directement de la reconnaissance des unions de fait.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"335746\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Ces m\u00eames personnes sont venues au comit\u00e9 pr\u00e9tendre que cela aurait le m\u00eame effet sur le mariage traditionnel que les unions de fait alors qu\u2019il n\u2019y a aucun rapport. Il n\u2019y a tout simplement pas de lien.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2006/12/6/bill-graham-3/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/124/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/1435/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "1822529",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Government Orders",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Marriage",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2006/12/6/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2006%2F12%2F6%2F"
    }
}