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December 9, 2004
Love And Marriage in Canada
Today I am very proud to be a Canadian. The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can change the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex marriages. According to Prime Minister Martin, the Liberal government will introduce a bill to do this as soon as January.
I wonder sometimes if Canadians' support for gay marriage is merely support for Canada exercising its sovereignty, despite (or perhaps in spite of?) the recent American anti-gay sentiment (like an election "decided" by so-called Moral Values). I wonder how many Canadians are somewhat indifferent to gay marriage, but just want to stick it to Bush.
Meanwhile, groups opposed to gay marriage are asking for a referendum on the issue. I'm kind of split on this. On the one hand, in a democracy the majority rule, and should the majority be against gay marriage, then maybe it shouldn't be allowed (although my opinion is that a nation-wide referendum would be for gay marriage). On the other hand, there needs to be a careful balance between the desires of the majority, and the needs of the minority. Sometimes laws need to be made to protect minority rights, however unpopular (take anti-Japanese internment after World War II as an example of the need for such laws).
Today I'm proud because as a nation, we are moving forward and eliminating discrimination. Ok, and maybe a little bit because we're sticking it to Bush too.
Comments
Good to see you're still proud of your roots and keeping up to date on what goes on in the homeland. I think it's also beneficial to all the great Americans out there to have another open-minded and liberal voice not only on their side, but part of their country as well.
Posted by: Rew at December 10, 2004 4:57 AM
Interesting to think that twenty years ago politicians would be run out of town for being pro-gay marriage. Now they'd be run out of town if they weren't!
Posted by: Rew at December 10, 2004 4:58 AM
I'm not gay
Posted by: Ian at December 10, 2004 10:38 PM
Ian is not gay. Sorry if I gave that impression.
Posted by: Rew at December 13, 2004 5:07 AM