Dual victory for gay and lesbian rights advocates in Canada these past few days: first, the Canadian Alliance's motion to restrict marriage to a man and a woman was defeated, and now a bill adding homosexuals to a list of groups protected by hate crime legislation passed in the House of Commons, 141-110.

This is excellent news on both sides of the border; not only is it a major boost to Canadian gays and lesbians, but provides additional support to Americans who still believe in the seperation of church and state and in the rightness of this particular issue.