Canada Preparing To Let Gay Marriage Foes Refuse Weddings

[davidinalameda]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/10/100406canada.htm

The Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is preparing legislation that would allow public officials to refuse to issue marriage licenses or perform civil ceremonies for same-sex couples a Canadian national newspaper reported Wednesday.

The Globe and Mail says that the bill, the Defense of Religions Act, also would exempt members of the clergy, church groups and socially conservative organizations from Canada's hate crimes law if they spoke out against homosexuality. The bill also would allow businesses whose owners object to homosexuality to refuse to do business with gays.

The promotion of hate law makes it a federal offense to disparage minorities, including gays, in speech, writing and on the air waves.

Canada, last year, became the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage (story) under the former Liberal government. Since then the Tories have been trying to find a way of undoing the law.

[BattyDem]

1. Why stop at gays?

Why not include African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Jews, Muslims, etc. It's time to make discrimination and bigotry legal! :sarcasm:

It appears our neighbors in Canada have their share of fundy whack-jobs!

[AX10]

2. The Liberals better get their act together.

and defeat these GD Conservatives ASAP!

[David__77]

3. Why not also interracial marriages?

Why just the gays?

[Deep13]

4. I don't think anyone should be precluded from speaking or writing.

The idea that there is one unassailable truth to anything is a kind of arrogance and is ultimately harmful to the democratic process. I realize that this is Canada and they are not exactly asking us Americans for advice. I am only speaking to my own feelings on free speech.

[Occulus]

7. And those feelings would be.....?? n/t

[Deep13]

9. See my post title.

[last1standing]

5. This is the price of corruption.

The Liberals were corrupted by unfettered power so the voters turned against them. Hopefully the same thing is about to happen here in the US. Some might think there's a lesson to be learned there somewhere.

[Siyahamba]

6. I'm not too concerned

I don't think even all Conservative MPs will be on-board with this one. Rather than shore up their base as this bill is intended, I imagine it will further alienate the majority of Canadians from the Conservative Party.

[G Hawes]

8. Is that accurate?

The initial link, I mean?

I read something about this yesterday but the way I read it, I didn't think it was about legislation that that would allow public officials to refuse to issue marriage licenses since that is already mandated by law in Canada.

I read it as an attempt to introduce legislation to allow private individuals to be exempt from the current law but I don't see how the proposed legislation would have any bearing on the law regarding the issuing of marriage licenses which is civil, not religious, and which is already in place.

???

Maybe I'm just missing something.