done, however, without intense debate over what was termed "the issue"; some congregations chose to leave the church rather than support the resolution. In August 2012, the governing body of the church, General Council - which gathers trianually to determine the leadership and direction of the church - selected Rev. Gary Paterson to be its moderator. He is believed to be the first openly gay leader of any mainline Christian denomination anywhere in the world. The church campaigned starting in 1977 to have the federal government add sexual orientation to federal non-discrimination laws, which was accomplished in 1996. The church has also engaged in activism in favour of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada, and on 20 July 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas and the first country outside Europe to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act. In 2012, Gary Paterson became first open gay moderator of United Church of Canada. United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) was formed by the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. Its polity is such that the views of one setting of the church cannot be unwillingly 'forced' on another church setting, whether between congregations of local churches, or between the upper levels of the church and individual congregations. Each individual church is independent and autonomous, in effect ecclesiastically sovereign. Thus, views on many controversial matters can and do vary among congregations. David Roozen, director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research who has studied the United Church of Christ, said surveys show the national church's pronouncements are often more liberal than the views in the pews but that its governing structure is set up to allow such disagreements. The United Church of Christ General Synod in 1985 passed a resolution entitled "Calling on United Church of Christ Congregations to Declare Themselves Open and Affirming" saying that "the Fifteenth General Synod of the United Church of Christ encourages a policy of non-discrimination in employment, volunteer service and membership policies with regard to sexual orientation; encourages associations, Conferences and all related organizations to adopt a similar policy; and encourages the congregations of the United Church of Christ to adopt a non-discrimination policy and a Covenant of Openness and Affirmation of persons of lesbian, gay and bisexual orientation within