It's a great day to be Canadian! The same-sex marriage law passed in Parliament by a vote of 158-133, and just needs to go through the senate and get royal assent, where it's pretty much guaranteed a rubber stamp. Finally gays and lesbians are becoming full citizens in our great nation!
Not that there isn't much gnashing of teeth and rending of clothes from the homophobic crowd. "We're not homophobic, we just disagree with homosexuality!" When you bring up the spectre of humans marrying dogs, you're a homophobe. When you try to spread fear that this is the beginning of the end, you're a homophobe. I'd like to see another term myself, because there is as much hate as there is fear, if not more. Bigot works, I guess. Most people don't like to think of themselves as bigots, but the anti-homosexual crowd are bigots. Sorry.
It's obvious they don't get it. A quote from Edmonton Catholic Archbishop Thomas Collins in today's Edmonton Sun reads, "Our main concerns are the effects of this bill in making real marriage into simply a variety of marriage, and of undermining the most fundamental social institution there is by the introduction of this new idea that marriage is simply a legitimization of a close relationship."
First off, a gay marriage is a real marriage, but I expect rhetoric like this from the Catholic clergy. I'll be nice and not go into their abhorrent reaction to pedophiles in the priesthood. It's to be expected that they'll try to undermine the reality of gay marriages. Where they really don't get it is seen in the last sentence where he talked of "this new idea that marriage is simply a legitimization of a close relationship." We're not talking good chums here, Collins. We're not talking about a couple of buddies that want freakin' health benefits. We're talking about people in love, partners in life who want to spend their lives as one, just like straight couples.
Don't talk to me about "children", because infertile and elderly couples marry as well. The only reason "children" were brought into the debate at all was as a tactic against homosexuals who can't have children with their spouses. The bigotted crowd twists more than an acrobatic pretzel as they try to excuse heterosexual couples getting married when they can't have children of their own as different than gay couples getting married, because, well, you know, if they could they would. Of course, so would many same-sex couples, but that's a bigger horror to the homophobes than having them marry is (I would also like to point out that lesbians can bear their own children with the help of donors, and gay men can be donors, never mind the children many have while still in the closet).
But why am I arguing? The side of good won this day. Stephen Harper can bluster all he wants about how a Conservative government would rip these hard-earned rights away from tax-paying citizens, but the fact of the matter is that for now the matter is settled, good has triumphed over ill, and it's a very good day to be Canadian.
posted
by Tabby at 6/29/2005 09:32:00 a.m.
