The bad faith “debate” about trans human rights
Recently, the National Post published a discussion that I engaged in with Jonathan Kay. I participated in that because it was an opportunity to provide a counterpoint for readers who…
dentedbluemercedes
The Conscience Chronicles
UPDATE: As this was being readied for posting, the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Public Bills voted to recommend that Bill 207 not move forward in its…
On “Unalienable” Human Rights
Screen capture, launch of the Commission on Unalienable Rights On Monday, July 8th, the U.S. State Department announced the launch of a Commission on Unalienable Rights, which is intended to…
“Unthinkable”
American religious conservatives have a problem. Riding high on their partnerships with the Trump administration and the perception of being political kingmakers, they need to be sure that they will…
The Alberta Advantage was Dependence
In the end, the “Alberta Advantage” was dependence. And in retrospect, undoing that dependence on the oil industry — a mixture of real and perceived — needed to be the…
Support Trans Youth, Say Pediatricians
On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement declaring that “The Academy stands against stigmatization and marginalization of youths and emphasizes the need for their acceptance…
Free Speech, When The “Debate” is You (and You’re Not Invited)
Shout: “Help, I’m being silenced!” There’s a duplicitous game of sleight-of-hand that is taking place in discussions about freedom of speech in academia and the public square. Here’s how it…
Gospel By Gaslight
If gaslighting is “a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or members of a group, hoping to make targets question their own…
Trans* Human Rights Bill C-16: A Look Back
Although I’ll be remarking on the passing of Bill C-16 elsewhere, I wanted to post Bill Siksay’s closing speech from February 7, 2011, back when the bill was in its…
What the “Walk on the Wild Side” controversy says about trans* awareness and a changing social movement
A little over a week ago, a University of Guelph student union drew international ire for condemning Lou Reed’s 1972 song “Walk on the Wild Side” as transphobic. This occurred…
Pitting “identity politics” against class struggle is backwards, and the path to self-defeat
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that one of the first things America’s political left would do during the 2016 election post-mortem is to attack minority groups like trans* people,…
Free speech, and the cruel shackles of empathy and mutual respect
In Canada, we tend to value freedom of speech very highly, and it’s often said that the best way to counter objectionable speech is with more speech. That’s the first…
Canada’s forthcoming “drop your pants” trans* blood donation policy
In addition to reducing the required wait time between having sex and donating blood to one year for gay men, Canadian Blood Services is poised to release its first-ever guidance…
The Problem is Fundamentalism, Not Islam (or Christianity).
When I started my transition, the first troubles I had were with the tenants in my building, though the conflicts weren’t overt. Instead, it seemed as though I’d had the…
Conscience, Human Rights, and a Kentucky Clerk
So inevitably, a blog that’s all about religious freedom would need to comment on the ongoing troubles of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, and her stand against issuing marriage licenses to…
Conscience, Human Rights, and a Kentucky Clerk
So inevitably, a blog that’s all about religious freedom would need to comment on the ongoing troubles of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, and her stand against issuing marriage licenses to…
Indiana put the lie to “religious freedom.” But Canadian Evangelicals hope you didn’t notice.
Everyone’s familiar with the old adage, “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.” Which is why the Evangelical leaders who held a press conference on…
Indiana put the lie to “religious freedom.” But Canadian Evangelicals hope you didn’t notice.
Everyone’s familiar with the old adage, “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.” Which is why the Evangelical leaders who held a press conference on…
Canada’s Trans* Rights Bill Now Endorses Bans in Washroom and Gendered Spaces
Canada’s trans* human rights bill C-279 was amended by a Senate committee, in a way that makes it legal to ban trans* people from washrooms and gendered spaces appropriate to…
Canada’s Trans* Rights Bill Now Endorses Bans in Washroom and Gendered Spaces
Canada’s trans* human rights bill C-279 was amended by a Senate committee, in a way that makes it legal to ban trans* people from washrooms and gendered spaces appropriate to…