Not a Story At All

On Saturday August 18 Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison became Canada's first federal politician to marry his same-sex partner in a ceremony in Cheverie, a thriving metropolis of 200 souls. Some of the inhabitants of the aforementioned town were puzzled by the media hype. Paul, who works at the auto body shop in Cheverie, summarized the townfolks' lack of concern over the wedding with his succinct, "It's not the 1800's anymore." Coverage on CTV.ca quotes Brison's neighbour Joanne Lake as saying, "I think it's silly that there's so much publicity over it. If he were straight, would there be quite so much publicity over his wedding?" That's a good question.
Former Prime Minister Paul Martin was among the wedding guests. Martin's government passed Bill C-38 through the House of Commons in 2005, making Canada the third country in the world, after the Netherlands and Belgium, to officially recognize same-sex marriage. That day in the House of Commons is history now. It's water under the bridge. Why is it still regarded as so newsworthy that an MP said, "I do."?
When Brison first became engaged to his partner Maxime St. Pierre, he said it all when he declared, "I'm looking forward to the day when the idea of a gay or lesbian politician getting married is not a story at all."