The B.C. Court of Appeal has released a ruling that makes the province the second in Canada to allow same-sex marriages.
"The reformulation of the common law definition of marriage as 'the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others' will take immediate effect," the ruling read.
The ruling means B.C.'s Vital Statistics Department can issue marriage licences to two people, regardless of sex.
Anthony Porcino and Tom Graff, a couple who have been together for 11 years, plan to apply for a marriage licence Tuesday.
The two embraced tightly as the decision was read, then headed directly to be legally married.
Mr. Graf said he felt "Great...and equal to the rest of Canada," following the decision.
In June, an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling upheld a lower-court decision finding the restriction of marriage to opposite-sex couples unconstitutional.
Although similar court rulings in B.C. and Quebec gave the federal government time to implement the court decisions, the Ontario ruling was immediate. The federal government announced that it would not appeal the ruling and would introduce legislation to allow same-sex marriages.
In an earlier decision, the B.C. Court of Appeal amended the common law to define marriage as the union of "two persons to the exclusion of all others." The new definition was suspended until July 12, 2004. But gay couples in B.C. who initiated that court challenge asked that the appeal be reopened after the Ontario Court of Appeal ruling.
"It is also apparent that any further delay in implementing the remedies will result in an unequal application of the law as between Ontario and British Columbia, with same-sex couples being denied the right to marry in British Columbia until July 12, 2004 while same-sex couples in Ontario may marry as and when they choose to do so," Tuesday's decision read.
The federal government will not appeal the Ontario ruling but wants advice from Canada's top court in what is known as a "reference" on how to reword the 137-year-old definition of marriage.
The federal government will ask whether it is constitutional for legislation to state that religious institutions cannot be obliged to perform same-sex marriages and whether marriage is the responsibility of the federal government to the exclusion of the provinces.
Legalizing same-sex marriage has wide support in the Liberal cabinet, including Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and the three Liberal leadership candidates, John Manley, Sheila Copps and Paul Martin.
The issue has divided Liberal backbenchers while most Alliance and Progressive Conservative MPs oppose the idea.
A free vote in the Commons in the fall will determine whether the bill becomes law.
