Equal rights is a concept which just grows and grows. In a little over forty years, African Americans, women and folks with disabilities have made enormous progress in the area of equal protection under the law and, if the news from Ottawa is any indication, the cultural revolution is not over yet. In case you haven't heard, the Canadian Supreme Court recently ruled that laws which define the term "spouse" as someone of the opposite sex are unconstitutional. This decision is a major step toward granting equal rights to our culture's most discriminated against and threatened minority - homosexuals.

This decision, while specifically applying only to Ontario province, has radical implications for all Canadians and, hopefully, for Americans as well. The reason this technical sounding pronouncement is so far reaching is that it means that all laws that employ the term" spouse" will have to be rewritten to include same sex partnerships. This involves areas such as insurance benefits, pension beneficiaries, and adoption to name but a few.

The 8-1 majority stressed that their opinion did not give same sex couples the right to marry because it was based on the previously recognized status given to unmarried heterosexual couples. In other words courts have acknowledged that common law unions between unmarried folks have many of the same legal privileges as marriages. Thus, if this fact is true for heterosexuals it should also be true for same sex partnerships.

While literally not granting full legal status to gay couples, I feel it is a sign of greater things to come. I believe we are witnessing history in the making and are standing on the brink of a quantum leap in evolution of social attitudes.

Although I believe this revolution is not far off, it is no time for folks who believe in the liberation of oppressed people to relax. While it didn't get much press coverage, we can guess what the reactions from the Christian Right and the Republican fringe will be. Much of their blather will warn about the loss of traditional values and equate gay marriage with the total moral collapse of western civilization. But this is nothing new.

Historically, every time social injustices have been overturned dire consequences were predicted. For example, integration was going to wipe out the white race and women's rights were supposed to lead to ruining of God's natural order. Tradition, ideas of what is natural and, even, out of context, Biblical quotations are always used by opponents of major social change. In Medieval times the Catholic Church even opposed early medical research and the dissection of the human body because it was said to be against God's will. When it comes to opposing change things haven't changed much. A couple of years ago, Bill Bennet cited "natural law" as his reason for opposing gay marriage.

While the Canadian court ruling is a major step, more needs to happen. Full liberation involves more than economic justice. It's about changing a fundamental societal outlook. It is, as Canadian Supreme Court Justice Peter Corey , wrote in his majority opinion, about overturning the view that gay relationships are "less worthy of recognition and protection." And that is really the heart of it, isn't it? Bigotry is more than believing that one's race, characteristics, ways or customs are superior. It is a discounting of the inherent value of those who are different.

When opponents of same sex marriage accuse gays and lesbians of an immoral lifestyle or of being an abomination to God is this is any different than the way Nazis dehumanized the Jews?

Personally, I believe we need to see the issue of gay rights as something more than another struggle between liberals and conservatives. This issue really is different than abortion or gun control or free speech. It involves the denial of fundamental rights to millions of human beings each day. To work for equal rights for legally disenfranchised minorities is also to affirm their equal dignity. With respect to homosexuality, there can be no equal dignity until gays are allowed to marry and have the same legal rights and privileges that heterosexuals take for granted.

If you are aren't sure how you feel about this issue, imagine where we are headed as a culture and what kind of country you want for the future. Do you truly believe our government should exclude over nine million of its citizens from their full privilege and protection of our laws? Or do you feel that our constitution protects everyone?

Looking at things from another direction, think about how we have grown in the past one hundred years. For those who believe allowing gays to marry should and could never happen, who would have dreamed civil rights would have progressed the way it has. Who would imagined that women would not only vote but be running for president.

I know we have a long way to go. The fear and hatred of homosexuals at an all time high. And yet it is important to know that tolerant opinions are also growing each day. For example Canadian public opinion polls taken after of the court's announcement showed strong support for it.

I've always loved Toronto and its people. It's a terrific city to visit. By expressing his agreement with the decision, Ontario's Premier Mike Harris will elevate Canada's largest city way beyond its tourist attraction level of importance. By rewriting its family laws, Toronto will become an example for the continent as it leads us to the next level of social evolution in the 21st century. I pray their example will inspire our hearts and embolden our leaders to do the same.

Rev. Michael Heath , Fayetteville, NY 5/22/99