Court rules Sask. gay marriage refusal law unconstitutional

REGINA – Saskatchewan’s top court has ruled that a proposed law allowing marriage commissioners to refuse to wed same-sex couples on religious grounds is unconstitutional.

The Appeal Court says that accommodating the religious beliefs of the commissioners could not justify what would amount to discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The court was asked by the province to weigh in on the proposed law that was crafted after a conflict arose in 2005.

Commissioner Orville Nichols, a devout Baptist, refused to marry a gay couple.

Supporters of the law said it didn’t deny same-sex couples the right to find someone else to marry them.

But Egale Canada, which advocates for gays and lesbians, said it was discriminatory and would erode equality rights.