First gay fraternity formed in Canada

• Tweet

MONTREAL, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Canada's first gay fraternity has been established at Montreal's McGill University, with most challenges coming from the gay community, organizers said.

Delta Lambda Phi is affiliated with the U.S. DLP gay fraternity family at 28 universities, but the first of its kind in Canada, the Toronto Star's Quebec bureau reported.

Founder Sam Reisler told the newspaper there has been no apparent homophobic opposition, but initial wording of membership requirements upset the Queer McGill group.

He said the collective lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered group challenged the fraternity's stipulation that membership was open to "males and those who identify as male."

Queer McGill administrator Elyse Lewis suggested the wording "who identify as male" suggested such people weren't real men.

The fraternity is working to reword the membership guidelines, Reisler said.

He said the group will operate similarly to other fraternities in charitable works, although drinking is put off until after meetings and members are discouraged from dating one another, the report said.