Canada Still Denies Marriage Equality

From Full Marriage Equality:

We were both born sort of on the outskirts of a small Russian ”hick” town and grew up together in a large family. The two of us and our grandfather were the only males. We had a few sisters, an aunt, and our mother in the same house with us. After our grandfather died, we moved to a Canada. Now, we live in a small town again.

We even shared a bed for a good amount of time after [my brother] grew out of his crib. I am older than him by two and a half years and we’re now in our mid-twenties. During our childhood, we were a little more close than most of the brothers we knew. We had almost that "Twin" quality. We were always seen together. Probably because we had a bit of a different view on life than most. For example, our grandfather taught us about forest trolls and it took us ages for our belief in them to die down. But we still spend as much time as we can in forested areas. Probably to remind us of that time in life.

[...] We have the natural life bond that brothers have. He is my brother. But more than anything, he's definitely my soulmate and my best friend. We do absolutely everything together and never get tired of each other. Perhaps it's the practice of growing up together. But honestly, aside from the constant hate from people who just don't get it... it's perfect.

[...] [My brother] is completely homosexual. I identify as bisexual with a preference for males. [...] We live together with two small dogs that are a lot like children for us. It's just easier that way.

[...] For me, [the feelings] were probably there for a very long time. I just never realized what they meant. They were definitely more romantic than sexual at first. I didn't discover it until fairly recently. He was actually the one who initialized the relationship, contrary to what most people believe. [...] It was definitely something we were both thinking about, although it took a while for the initial "awkwardness" of discussing it to come out. He was the one who brought it up the first time.

We still haven't had the opportunity to try everything we want to. For example, we try to avoid full-on intercourse as often as we can simply because we're terrified of the legal punishment involved if people were to find out. But we do have our time and whenever it becomes too difficult we simply isolate ourselves together somewhere, for maybe a weekend, as an example.

[...] Unfortunately, due to the fear we did have, [our first time] wasn't as "Magical" as we intended. We were afraid even though we didn't truly think anyone would find out. But everything did feel "natural." There was no feeling of "Oh my god, I shouldn't be doing this." I just knew that I love him to death and that was all I had to focus on.

[...] We don't find [the sexual aspect of our relationship to be] very important to us, simply for the fact that most of our relationship is based on getting "out and about" and doing as many activities as possible. Perhaps as a distraction from the natural tension. But it is something we like to enjoy as much as any normal couple, because that's simply what we try our hardest to be like. We don't want to feel too different.

[...] Our family didn't seem to really care as much [about our relationship], especially not our mother. She just asked that she not hear too much about it and that around HER we're brothers. We have one sister who is very supportive, but we also have one that despises us for it. The others are neutral. When it comes to our social life and being around... Some people know us as brothers and some as a couple. Only the ones we feel we can really trust know us as both. When it comes to a professional life, we tend to keep quiet about any relationship between the two of us.

[...] We do understand that some relationships have disadvantages. But so do non-related couples. I'd rather be with someone who I knew from the start I'd get along with (because I had since he was born) than with someone who just wouldn't get me. We did explain previously the sexual thrill that does come from the "rebellious" and "forbidden" feeling of interaction. But we also simply have this natural connection and bond that is unbreakable. The only down side I can honestly name is the lack of ability to marry and rights of consent.

[...] I have a very close [but non-sexual] relationship with all of my relatives. I love them all to death. Plus there's the fact that we were raised to be affectionate. We kiss each other on the lips at family gatherings, we hug, we can even cuddle sometimes. But in that case it never meant anything sexual or romantic like it does with my partner.

[...] We understand your concern, we respect your beliefs. But this is our life. You can't separate us simply because you want to. We will continue to live the way we choose. We are not trying to "disrespect" you or anyone who's had a bad experience with incest related abuse or anything of the sort. But we feel like there is nothing wrong with what we're doing. We're just as normal as any other couple and we know that many who have actually taken time to meet us will agree.

[...] Of course we would [like to get married]. That'd be a dream. We've experienced physical and mental abuse due to our relationship, even in the workplace. Also the fact that we cannot have the marital benefits that many couples do have, even unrelated gay couples here in Canada. It's very difficult. But so far we'd just like the ability to be together and feel safe doing so.

[...] We'd like to travel as much as we can in the future. We're looking for places where we may be able to just spend a short amount of time where we may have slightly more equal rights. But all in all we'd just like to keep on with the path we're on (and maybe find some forest trolls ;) ).