Canadian politician marries same sex partner

The photo was taken by James Ingram of Canadian Press. Scott Brison, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Liberal Party of Canada, is the groom on the right. The Globe and Mail reported on Saturday:

CHEVERIE, N.S. — As a heavy rain poured down on this picturesque Nova Scotia community, Scott Brison made history Saturday by becoming the first MP to marry his same-sex partner since gay marriage was legally recognized two years ago.

The Liberal politician wed his partner Maxime St. Pierre at a small white church near Mr. Brison’s country home in Cheverie, in what guests described as joyful and emotional ceremony.

Guests included Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, former prime minister Joe Clark [a Progressive Conservative], former Liberal defence minister Bill Graham, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna and Liberal MP John Godfrey.

“It’s something we need to celebrate and we must be proud that Canada is showing the way,” Mr. Dion said after the wedding.

“I came first to celebrate love and happiness between two friends of mine, but if by my presence it helps a bit to reinforce a newly recognized right and to encourage other countries to do the same, I am pleased.”

Mr. McKenna said the wedding would help further legitimize same-sex marriage, and he said everyone sitting in the pews was aware of the event’s significance. …

Cheverie is a small community of about 200 in the province’s Annapolis Valley.

Residents in the area were playing down the significance of the wedding, noting that Mr. Brison has never defined his political career through his sexual orientation.

Just up a two-lane winding road from where the wedding was taking place, Pat Eldridge of nearby Canning said she is happy for Mr. Brison.

“If they’re in love and want to be together, then that’s awesome,” she said as she shopped at a yard sale. “Love is hard to find.”

Another resident who didn’t want her name used said: “To each their own. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions and own way of life.”

Local restaurant owner Doris Hagman … who wouldn’t say if she was attending the wedding, said she wouldn’t personally call the union a marriage, but she is still happy for her friend. …

Mr. Brison publicly acknowledged he is gay in 2002 and became Canada’s first openly gay cabinet minister in 2004. But he has always closely guarded his private life, saying once that he is “not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay.”

Note that several high-ranking politicians attended the wedding, without fear of political repercussions. Andrew Sullivan offered a quick summation from an American vantage point:

An MP gets married to his same-sex spouse. The political establishment shows up in force. North of the border, this is getting to be virtually normal.