Common Sense is Required
No one (at least no one with a clue) could ever accuse me of not being fully supportive of GLBT rights but I have to tell you that this is not only wrong it’s just plain stupid from a political p.o.v. for advancing GLBT rights in Canada.
For those not wanting to take the time to read the article here’s a synopsis. A lesbian couple in BC rented a hall for their wedding reception and when the hall owners discovered it was a reception for a same sex marriage they cancelled the reservation. The couple have filed a human rights complaint.
So far that sounds like a legitimate complaint right? Well there’s a little hitch, so to speak, in this scenario. The hall they rented is owned by the Knights of Columbus. I’ve never seen a KoC hall that doesn’t prominently display their name and crest. Now, anyone who doesn’t know that the KoC is a extremely conservative Roman Catholic organization is a damned fool.
Many different societies, religious and secular, own halls to hold their meetings and other events in and rent those halls out in the interim in order to make ownership affordable and to help support their organization. Religious organizations should not be forced to accomodate those who their religion condemns regardless of how anyone inside or outside of that religion feels about that condemnation.
It is just plain wrong to abrogate the rights of one group in order to accomodate those of another, and, in the current political climate surrounding same-sex marriages with impending legislation in parliament that will redefine marriage to include same-sex marriages, it is just plain stupid. There’s no other word for it.
In one fell swoop they have delivered a powerful weapon to the opponents of same-sex marriages. Many in that camp have been declaring that priests, rabbis and ministers will be forced, against their religious beliefs, to marry same-sex couples. While legislators have stated that will not be (nor should it be) the case, and the Supreme Court ruled last month that religious officials opposed to same-sex marriages do not have to perform them, if the BC Human Rights Council rules in favour of this couple it will be a disaster for GLBT rights as it will give the rednecks such as Calgary Bishop Frederick Henry and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper some very good ammunition to use in their war against same-sex marriage rights.
This couple should drop this suit. Nothing positive will come of it at all but lots of harm could.
Comment from steve
Time: 1/27/2005, 1:49 pm
I would think that your conclusion is correct. This could provide an anectdotal example for the Conservatives. It appears Canadian law would rule against the couple, however.
All the same, there was a court case recently in the states about women being admitted to the Augusta country club. She lost the case. The case comes down to the distinction between public and private.