Canadian activist
urges Nova Scotia churches to allow same-sex marriage

Canadian gay rights activist Gerard Veldhoven is calling for churches in Amherst, Nova Scotia, to allow same-sex marriages. Veldhoven says that now that civil marriage is legal, religious institutions should follow suit, reports the Amherst Daily News. "The fact civil marriage ceremonies have now been legal in the whole of Canada for some time now, I believe it to be fair and justified that same-sex couples are afforded the opportunity to marry in their churches," Veldhoven told the local paper.

He added that it is ironic that the United Church of Canada was a driving force in allowing same-sex couples to marry but that Trinity-St. Stephen's United in Amherst prohibits such ceremonies. Presently, no churches in the town allow same-sex marriages to take place on their grounds.

"It's not something that's within our control," the Reverend Byron Corkum with Amherst First Baptist told the Daily News. "It's a convention policy, and we have to follow it to remain as part of the convention."

Veldhoven married his partner, Norman Carter, in 2004 in what was believed to be the first legal same-sex union in Nova Scotia. (The Advocate)