UK high court rejects gay marriage

This one hasn't received too much press, has it? Two Canadian women were married here in Canada, and then went over to the UK and asked the courts to recognize their marriage, saying their human rights had been violated.

Mark Potter, president of the High Court's Family Division, ruled there was a "long-standing definition and acceptance" that marriage refers to a relationship between a man and a woman, primarily designed to raise children.

"To accord a same-sex relationship the title and status of marriage would be to fly in the face of the (European) Convention (on Human Rights) as well as to fail to recognize physical reality," Potter said.

"The belief that this form of relationship is the one which best encourages stability in a well-regulated society is not a disreputable or outmoded notion...," Potter said.

So he used the Convention on Human Rights to justify the decision. Interesting, isn't it? Europe rarely leads in this kind of policy area, but this is a very welcome development.