Canada Puts Gay Marriage Back on the Table

[sniffa]

Canada’s Parliament is bringing the divisive issue of same-sex marriage back to the floor of the Commons, a member of the government told Reuters Canada on Wednesday.

The ruling Conservatives promised the vote as part of their campaign in the run-up to the January 23 election, which they won with a minority of seats.

snip

Pro gay-marriage activists said to Reuters Canada that they are confident that a majority of legislators will vote against reopening the issue.

snip

Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised during the last election to hold a free vote that would give MPs a chance to revisit the question of gay and lesbian marriage.

http://www.247gay.com/article.cfm?section=66&id=11765

[Megahurtz]

1. I'm assuming Gay Marriage is already legal

in Canada, and now the ConservativeFreaks want to outlaw it?:wtf:

Why are they always trying to take away things that have already been decided?

[JerseygirlCT]

11. Yes, I believe that's right. nt

[Canuckistanian]

2. If they try anything, our Supreme Court will overturn it

Our former Prime Minister Chretien did a smart thing. He asked the SC for an opinion whether gay marriage was defendable under the Charter (our Constitution) and the SC said yes.

So, they can pass as many anti-gay marriage laws as they like. They won't last long.

[Vidar]

7. Thank you for that clarification.

[JerseygirlCT]

12. That's good to know! nt

[iverglas]

3. not quite accurate

Canada’s Parliament is bringing the divisive issue of same-sex marriage back to the floor of the Commons

Canada's *government* is bringing the issue back to the House of Commons. Parliament itself (the House of Commons, and Senate) has no say in the matter of whether a bill or resolution is introduced by the government, i.e. the Conservative Party minority in the House that is now in government.



http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/11/112906canada.htm

During the federal election campaign last January, Harper promised a free vote in the Commons on whether to reopen the debate. The motion to reopen the issue fulfills his election promise to religious conservatives.

But, with a minority government Harper has been faced with a dilemma. Facing the likelihood of an election in 2007 Harper must continue to curry the favor of conservative religious groups while at the same time portray himself as moderate in Ontario and Quebec - the two provinces he must win to form a majority government, and the two provinces where support for same-sex marriage is highest.

... Lobbyists for the Catholic Church and evangelical groups have been working MPs they believe could vote either way on reopening the debate. Those same MPs have been buttonholed by representatives of the country's largest Protestant denomination, the United Church of Canada, which supports gay marriage.

Some informal surveys of MPs show the Harper motion could be defeated by as many as 40 votes.

The United Church of Canada ... people like my 76-year-old mum, who politely chides her less decent/rational fellow senior cits building residents when they speak against same-sex marriage, and shames them into agreeing it's none of their damned business.

[xchrom]

4. this is about public relations.

a bone{er} for those who put them in power -- it is better than a 75% chance of failing.

but the pr will be valuable for some short while.

[Lisa]

5. during the same-sex marriage debates, my local MP's staff told me ...

... that they got a number of abusive phone calls and letters, but almost all of them were from the States (and generally organized by right-wing groups). The Canadian public didn't seem to be worked up about it. (We've had it in BC for some time now, and the fact that the place hasn't gone to hell in a handbasket as the fundies had predicted, is obvious to reasonable people. Not even Harper would try to argue that Vancouver's recent rain and snow-storms were linked to it!)

[irislake]

6. Ho hum!

Bye bye "Steve".

[Pab Sungenis]

8. Gay Canadians, remember

who put you in this situation: the Conservatives, the Bloc, and the NDP, which put the Cons in power.

[CHIMO]

10. You Forgot

The Greens.

Maybe we could get Ralph to move to Canada!

[iverglas]

13. oh yes, the Liberals are the saviours of us all

Maybe there are some poor benighted US residents here who will even believe you.

Gay and lesbian Canadians, and Canadians in general, really aren't that stupid ... despite the hard labour being engaged in by Liberal shills everywhere to get this little meme into everybody's noggins. But that emperor really just ain't wearin' no clothes.

Hmm. What do some of those gay and lesbian Canadians say about it?

http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/advocacy/cleaning_house.htm

In the past, our political leaders, including Prime Minister Chretien (who should know better, as one who helped draft the Charter), have been unwilling to lead by example in extending full rights to the gay community. Instead, the Liberal party has let the courts do what should have been done by Parliament. This has led to the perception, amongst conservatives and so-called-liberals, that the rights in our land are divisible: applicable to some but not others. They are wrong.

The Liberal party dithered and delayed, fighting same-sex marriage on three fronts in Ontario, Quebec, and B.C. When the courts spoke they ignored the message or prevaricated as much as possible. Last November, the Justice Minister released a white-paper for discussion and then launched Parliamentary hearings to discuss the issue. To what end? It served as a platform for bigots who puked up their bile, while gays and lesbians were put in the position of pleading for rights that are theirs in the first place.

... Alliance party members must be enjoying the summer as they watch the Liberal party implode over this issue. They've hardly had to hurl a homophobic slur as the Liberal party seems quite capable of doing it for them. Maybe Chretien hopes to leave a Liberal party as decimated as the Conservative party was when Brian Mulroney jumped ship.

We are only too happy to see a shakedown in the Liberal party. Many of their members (John Bryden among them) are unworthy of calling themselves liberal and are better suited for the ignoramuses collected under the banner of the Alliance party. A purge of the Liberal party would serve Canada well. The issue of gay marriage will drive the bigots masking as liberals into the open where we can get a better look at them.

One NDP MP voted against the legislation recognizing same-sex marriage. She broke party discipline -- unlike the scummy Liberals, the NDP did not allow caucus members to vote their own bigotry, not that anyone but her had any. She was relieved of critic duties and left the caucus after losing the nomination in her riding, the party leader having supported her opponent. (I think she should have been expelled immediately, but oh well, imperfect is better than scummy.)


Let us know when the new Liberal leader whips the caucus on this issue, 'k?

[Pab Sungenis]

14. If the Bloc and the NDP are so damn concerned about Canadian Gays and their rights

They'll do to Harper what they did to Paul Martin, and turn him out of power. If they don't, they're as guilty as Harper himself.

[Amonester]

15. Don't worry about le bloc voting for that waste of time.

They know their most recent numbers in Quebec just got out: 39%

Liberals are second at somewhere near 30%.
CONservatives R sinking fast to way below 20%...

There is NO way the CONs may stand a slightest chance at ever holding their slim minority government from now on...

Get ready for an early boot out of power of the lil' busche lover as soon as possible, like sometimes in the early months of 2007.

Le Bloc is ready... (as ready as the Libs & NDP will be).

Watch harper fall flat sooner than later. (We're sick of them).

[iverglas]

16. er

If the Bloc and the NDP are so damn concerned about Canadian Gays and their rights

they'll vote against the stupid resolution. Duh.

A resolution opposing same-sex marriage is not a confidence motion, as the issue on which the Martin Liberal government fell was. It will go down to defeat, but the government will not.

Does Stephen Harper look stupid to you? Better look more closely.

[daleo]

18. He doesn't necessarily look stupid

But he acts like he doesn't know the difference between clever tactics and intelligent strategy. So he doesn't strike me as smart. I think he will lose the next election.

[Pab Sungenis]

19. He doesn't look stupid.

He looks dangerous.

The Bloc and the NDP put that lunatic in power, and now they need a chance to get rid of him.

[iverglas]

20. your regard for the voters of Canada

is underwhelming.

Over 1/3 of Canadians voted for the Conservatives. No one held a shotgun to their heads, any more than anyone held a shotgun to the heads of voters who voted NDP, Liberal or Bloc.

Liberals are such sad, sorry, bad losers. The rule to live by: a Liberal is never to blame for anything.

I guess I missed that lesson in my Cdn history courses.

[VegasWolf]

9. Controls over whom may be married is nanny-state at its worst! nt

[bliss_eternal]

17. kick

:kick: