Same-Sex Marriages OK'd by Toronto Court. (News)

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The city of Toronto has started issuing marriage certificates to gay and lesbian couples, and two Canadian men were officially wed only hours after an Ontario appeals court ruled June 10 that Canada's ban on homosexual marriage was unconstitutional.

If not appealed further by the federal government, the province of Ontario would be the first government entity in North America to legalize gay marriage. Vermont and Quebec allow gay civil unions but not the full equivalent of marriage.

The three-person appeals panel ruled that the federal law allowing only heterosexuals to wed violated the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, part of Canada's constitution. A decision in …