I received interesting feedback for a piece I wrote called “When the Right of Refusal is Just So Wrong!” The piece talked about a marriage commissioner who has been refusing to wed gay couples. The Saskatchewan Party has even tabled legislation to protect his right do so.
Why I’m addressing this topic again is because of the very provocative feedback I received from one W. Moran. Here’s what this person had to say in response to the original piece:
“W. Moran Says: July 27, 2009
“You people demanded tolerance and acceptance for years. Now you have it – and refuse to return it to the very people who gave it to you. I don’t happen to support gay marriage, although if you want a civil union, fine. Fill your boots. But at least permit a person their own rights, such as the right to their religious beliefs. It’s not like MJ’s wish to be married wasn’t accommodated. And you know as well as I do, it was a setup to get Nichols, based on his public statements about gay marriage. We gave you rights – now how about you return the favour and get off Nichols’ back?”
When I read this I became incensed. Not so much because this person didn’t agree with what I wrote, but the tone and position he or she took in the response. To wit: Opening the response with “You people” tells me Moran doesn’t hold gays in high regard. I can just see the smug look that accompanies those two words. But more importantly, to say that M.J. (the identity of the plaintiff in court documents) used this as a setup to “get” Nichols is a ridiculous statement. Could it be that M.J. was so incensed to be refused their rights that he complained to the authorities? Wouldn’t you?
But the capper for me is the last line: “We gave you rights – now how about you return the favour and get off Nichols’ back?”
Dear W. Moran, to be clear, YOU did not give us our rights. YOU clearly had nothing to do with it. Queer people started to get our rights in Canada when The Charter of Rights and Freedoms was written into Canada’s Constitution. It started when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau decriminalized homosexuality 40 years ago. We got our rights because individuals and groups filed challenges in provincial courts and the Supreme Court to have discriminatory laws and practices struck down. We got our rights because brave people with vision did the right thing. We got our rights because we live in a civil society. Do you see yourself anywhere in there, W. Moran?
As I said in the original piece, if Orville Nichols (who is a CIVIL marriage commissioner) does not want to perform services for same sex couples then he should find another way to be a civil servant that does not put him at odds with his religious beliefs. In his complaint to the Human Rights Commission he said the Charter of Rights and Freedoms should protect his religious beliefs. What he really wants is to have his bigotry protected by law.
W. Moran, how would you react if someone looked at you, made an assumption about you and refused you a job, a place to live, a service or any other basic right? What if you were told, “We don’t serve your kind here.”? I bet you’d be hurt, angered and offended. I bet you’d have something to say about it.
By the way, Nichols lost his appeal to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission last week. The Commission’s original findings from 2007 stand and so does the $2,500 in compensation he had to pay to the gay couple whom he refused to marry.
That, W. Moran, is justice.
With the unrelenting media masturbation over Michael Jackson’s death it can be hard to find real news. Well, here’s one that actually may affect people: The Saskatchewan Party government has put forth a proposal that would give the province’s marriage commissioners the right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.
