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Support Minority Marriage RightsCategory: Politics For the past while in Canada, one issue has captured the public interest. It's a big issue, and it's hard to know where to start in discussing it. I'll probably need more than one blog entry to properly cover all of its aspects. Should the members of one particular minority group be denied the right to marry? Let's ask some different questions: Should Canadians of Japanese descent be rounded up and confined to internment camps? Should Chinese immigrants be required to pay a hefty "head tax" for the privilege of entering Canada? Should women who date men of a different race be institutionalized? Should Catholics be denied the right to vote? These questions are clearly ridiculous, now. But at one time or other in Canada's history, the answer to each of these questions was "yes". The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enacted to ensure that such flagrant denials of basic human rights never happen again in this country. The issue currently under debate involves the right of same-sex couples to marry. Already, courts in seven provinces and territories have interpreted the Charter as giving this minority the right to marry. Now, it's up to the federal parliament to pass legislation to bring Canada's laws in line. (The Ontario legislature has already done so for provincial statutes.) Inexplicably, some federal politicians don't agree that all minority groups should have equal marriage rights, and plan to vote against the proposed legislation. But it's not the place of elected officials to decide the issue. It's already been decided by various courts throughout the country. One reason we have a Charter (and courts to enforce it) is to protect minorities from the whims of the majority. If it's acceptable for politicians to debate about and vote on the rights of one minority, what's the next minority group to have its rights debated and voted on? How would you feel if the government told you that you couldn't marry the one you love? One final thing to consider: Do you love your spouse? I know how much I love my wife and how much my marriage means to me. Is it right that marriage be denied from other loving couples? Hans path: /Politics | permanent link to this entry  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
