First thing’s first. Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage yesterday should be celebrated. On the heels of similar pronouncements by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, this marks the first time that a sitting US President has taken such a bold stance in favour of marriage
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Montreal Simon: Obama and the Cruelty of Hatred
It was long overdue. “At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Mr. Obama said. It won't make any difference to gay couples in many states
Continue readingFive of Five: Dan Savage and Some High School Kids
Dan Savage is talking to some high school age kids at a conference about journalism. When the subject turns to homosexuality in the bible a bunch of them walk out. By walking out they are making a public statement that they don’t mind being on the wrong side of history
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 5, 2011
Monday, December 5 saw the House of Commons debate the NDP’s motion on climate change. And while the Cons tried to put up a relatively brave facade on an issue where they’ve been fighting progress at any turn, they inevitably ended up showing their true colours. The Big Issue At
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Prop 8 and the Dark Wall of Discrimination
First they were allowed to get married, and then they were told they couldn’t. One day they had human rights, the next day they were stolen. But today in California they won another big victory. “All that Proposition 8 accomplished was to take away from same sex-couples the right to
Continue readingRedBedHead: Psst…Torture’s OK. Pass It On.
Vic Toews, Minister of Torture and Morality We’ve always known that the Tories mission is to makeover Canada into a far-right Republican spa resort by stealth, since most Canadians hold values to the left of their lunacy. So, they change tax rules for film financing here and chip into same
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: California Gays Headed to the Supremes
It’ll be up to the US Supreme Court to decide the validity of California’s ban on gay marriage. A US Federal appeals court has ruled the ban violates the US Constitution. “…the panel found that Proposition 8 – passed by California voters in November 2008 by a margin of 52
Continue readingBully for you, Minister Baird
John Baird has never been one of my favourite politicians. There is too much of the bully about him. Nonetheless, I applaud him for his speech Monday in the UK in which he criticized other Commonwealth nations for denying fundamental freedoms to homosexuals and others. “Dozens of Commonwealth countries currently
Continue readingTerahertz: Stand against homophobia on the Vancouver School Board
Robin Perelle, writing for Xtra!, gives a good background on the swell of opposition to anti-homophobia policy in the lower mainland. Basically, NPA trustees Ken Denike and Sophia Woo have been caught red-handed in videos lying to the Christian Social Concern Fellowship that Vancouver has no anti-homophobia policy, when in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Carol Goar criticizes the tax giveaways that have blown a massive hole in the federal budget: But there is one area of government activity that will escape (Tony Clement’s budget-slashing) scrutiny. Every year Ottawa gives up billions of taxes in deductions, exemptions, deferrals,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Burning question
In re: the credibility of Stephen Harper in declaring that his government’s legal stance that Canadian gay marriage can be retroactively nullified by government fiat shouldn’t be taken as an indication of any greater hostility toward the gay community in “further reopening” the issue: when exactly was it that the
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper’s Brutal Assault on Gay People
He can try to hide behind big legal words. He can claim he didn’t know. But nobody can deny that this is a brutal assault on gay people. The Harper government is being accused of taking away same-sex rights by “stealth” in light of a surprise government stand that non-resident
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Introducing the Liberal Queer Caucus
The Liberal Party has a lot of work to do this weekend as Liberals from across the country schlep to Ottawa for our biennial convention. This morning we are all reminded of what exactly is at stake as it appears that Stephen Harper is engaging dog-whistle politics over marriage-equality. A
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Civil Unions vs Full Marriage Equality
Civil unions, as opposed to gay marriage, are often advocated for by the moderate right, and sometimes as a pragmatic solution on the left. The main idea is that civil unions provide a more reasonable approach that lets gay people enjoy the benefits of something close to marriage without upsetting those who do
Continue readingDrive-by Planet: NC family group uses crosshairs graphic to attack same-sex marriage
Rev Mark Harris is one of the leading voices calling for a ban on same-sex marriage in N. Carolina. He heads up the state’s Baptist Convention this year and will be in the vanguard of a push for a state constitutional amendment. In reference to the upcoming referendum on marriage
Continue readingTerahertz: Christy Clark’s staff respond to homophobic bullying
5 days ago I sent a form letter to Christy Clark, as my MLA, asking her to address homophobic bullying in BC schools. Dear Christy Clark, Premier and MLA, I am writing this message in the interest of protecting the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth in the province of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 – Policy Roundup 2
Following up on my earlier post, let’s take a quick look at the policy proposals that have been unveiled by NDP leadership candidates over the last couple of weeks. – Niki Ashton’s plan for a more inclusive economy includes plenty of noteworthy ideas, including a direct attack on structural discrimination
Continue readingArt Threat: Help fund Project Homophobia film – Friday Film Pick: The Boy Next Door
Gregor Schmidinger’s 2008 short film The Boy Next Door has received its share of positive attention, and to date, has had over 52,000 viewings on Vimeo. The film, while mildly suffering a few stilted moments between adult and child actors, is a well-executed narrative fragment about a male prostitute, his
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: The Authoritative Conservative-to-English Dictionary
Conservative-speak can be confusing for the less practice ear. I know, I know, it sounds like English, but perhaps it is just a different dialect? And it just all sounds so good; surely fixing the deficit, creating jobs, and promoting freedom and democracy is a good thing? To aid in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 31, 2011
Monday, October 31 saw a study in contrasts as two matters were debated in the House of Commons: a private member’s bill which understandably saw broad agreement, and an opposition motion which should have but was instead met with a painful level of denial from the Cons. The Big IssueThat
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