Toronto, December 8, 2006 - Canada's Parliament voted not to reopen the gay marriage debate and let stand a law passed last year that legalized marriage for same-sex couples. The people as a whole are not satisfied though the law has defeated them.

During the last election campaign, Conservative leader Stephen Harper, now the Prime Minister, had promised to hold a vote in the House of Commons on whether Parliament should reconsider the issue.

Gay marriage became legal in Canada last year under the previous Liberal government in response to a series of court rulings that gave gay people the right to marry. Thousands of gay Canadians, as well as foreign visitors, have gotten married.

Laurie Arron, national coordinator for Canadians for Equal Marriage, which led the effort to legalize gay marriage, said Thursday's vote reflects a growing consensus among Canadians that it is time to move on. Last year's vote to allow gay marriage was 158-133.

"It's clear that this issue is now settled. The vote today was quite overwhelming," Arron said.

Same-sex marriage is legal in four other countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and South Africa. In the United States, only the state of Massachusetts allows gay marriage.

Vermont and Connecticut permit civil unions, California grants similar status through a domestic-partner registration law, and more than a dozen states give gay couples some legal rights

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