Equal Marriage For Same-Sex Couples | Dignity and Parliament's marriage debate

Deignity and Parliament's marriage debate (Photo of Speaker of the House of Commons, surrounded by party leaders)

Advocacy News - Dignity and Parliament's marriage debate

December 14, 2004

Dignity and Parliament's marriage debate
A call for moderation from house speaker & leaders

"The Roman Catolic church in Alberta is mounting a concerted campaign againt us, and the comments in the press here yestd'y by their Archbishop reinforce that. Locally, on a widely viewed supper newscast last Thursday, a local rabbi stated that marriage was for procreation. Hopefully we will not see a repeat here locally of salicious comments from those who are outspoken, and do a disservice as we move to equality. The end to systemic discrimination is, I prayerfully hope, near!"
email from Jack Waller, Alberta, Dec. 14, 2004

Same-sex marriage activists are calling upon the respected (acclaimed with unanimous consent) House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken, party house leaders, and all Members of Parliament to assure a dignified level of debate on human rights.

Words like "pervert, immoral, unnatural, repugnant, necrophilia, incest and pedophilia," are commonly used by the radical religious right and must not be allowed in the House of Commons debate, activists say.

"If we were all black-skinned, aboriginal or Catholic, would they be allowed to talk that way?" asks activist Ian Taylor.

Last year, Parliament's Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights allowed the following statements to be made, unchallenged by the chair:

Marriage equality would "create a new morality in which homosexuality is not merely tolerated but is normalized and would branch out into sexual activity with babies, children of both sexes, and with animals." (Rita Curly, Catholic Women's League, Feb. 11, 2003)
Homosexuals are mostly drug users and are prone to infidelity, unlike heterosexuals (REAL Women of Canada, Feb. 12, 2003).
Homosexuals could be induced to "abstain or leave the country" if "body parts are lopped off" (Canadian Christian Women's Org. For Life, Feb. 13, 2003).
Homosexuals are "repugnant" and "detestable" and marriage equality is a gateway to incest, polygamy and bestiality ( Westboro Baptist Church, Feb. 18, 2003).

[Additional examples can be found in the March 26, 2021 report, "Extended run for cruel joke".]

Taylor warned against such messages televised by the radical religious right, especially during Christmas when most families are together. "We're watching you and we'll complain to the CRTC about hateful words," says the spin doctor, and best-selling co-author, along with his husband George Olds, of Never Say "NO COMMENT" -How Spin Doctors Answer Questions.

Ian Taylor and Kevin Bourassa of equalmarriage.ca / samsexmarriage.ca will be available for interviews today at noon outside Woody's, 467 Church Street, Toronto.