Efforts by a foreign same-sex couple , who married in Toronto in 2005 , to secure a divorce have not only dropped a potentially messy legal crisis into the lap of the federal government , but also given new life to the long-held suspicions of many that the Harper Tories are closet homophobes …

The legalities of the situation are complex. The unidentified couple , whose names are covered by a publication ban , returned to Canada to apply for a divorce after being married here seven years ago. They were not able to obtain said divorce because under the Divorce Act , applicants must be residents of Canada for at least 12 months ! This couple does not , and seemingly never has , lived in Canada. They just chose to marry ( and split up ) here because it was not possible for them to do so in their home jurisdictions !!! …

* MORBNOTE I ; So we get to pay for these assholes AGAIN !!! …

Uninterested in living in Canada for a year just to get divorced , the couple filed a Charter claim ( Thanks PETE !!! Can’t wait to hear what Justy has to say about this one !!! … ) against the Ontario and federal governments , claiming that the residency requirement violated their Section 7 right to ‘ life , liberty and security of the person ‘ and their Section 15 right to equality under the law … These both seem to be spurious arguments … But rather than fight them on their own ( lacking ! ) merits , a government ( TAXPAYER PROVIDED !!! )lawyer instead deployed this humdinger of a legal manoeuvre ;

‘ They can’t get divorced because it turns out they were never married at all !!! …

Done !!! … Easy-peasy … Let’s break for lunch …

The government is arguing that since Florida and the U.K. ( The home jurisdictions of the estranged couple ! ) DON’T recognize gay marriages … A gay marriage licence issued in Canada isn’t legally valid ! … People living in Canada , Canadian or otherwise , would have no problem , because Canada does recognize same-sex unions. But if your home country or state doesn’t …Then the government has argued that a Canadian marriage has no standing in law …

*MORBNOTE II ; MORE wasted tax dollars on a totally BULLSHIT situation because of our SEVERLY FLAWED CHARTER OF RIGHTS !!! …

And who’s collectin’ a big paycheque no matter how it turns out ?!!! …

LAWYERS !!! …

* also

via If Stephen Harper wanted to go after gay marriage he'd be smarter than this | Full Comment | National Post.