Giorgio Mammoliti, a Toronto city councillor and mayoral candidate in the upcoming municipal election, has officially motioned to withdraw funding from Toronto Pride, one of North America’s largest gay pride festivals and a massive tourism boost for the city. Mammoliti’s proposal comes with a condition, however—a little ultimatum that would let him micromanage which groups are allowed to march in the Pride parade.

You see, Toronto Pride, like many gay groups, is currently involved in some community infighting. The sort of gay drama that would make a drag queen proud. Specifically, it’s over whether or not to vet parade banners to regulate exactly how tolerant versus free-speechy everything is—or something like that; I don’t know all the details.

What I do know is that Mammoliti, not satisfied with leaving the community to manage these things on its own like it always does, has decided to leverage the minor controversy and attempt the defunding of the festival from the city’s budget entirely.

The gist of the motion is this: If a group called Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, whose controversial signs were a sore spot for some community members last year, is allowed to march in the Pride parade,  then the City of Toronto’s 2010 “funding and support” of the festival will be revoked entirely.

Now, Mammoliti has a documented history of anti-gay attitudes. He once dismissed gay relationships in a discussion about human rights by declaring that our “body part’s aren’t complementary; they don’t fit together.” (Err… Should we explain it to him? I really hope that won’t require a diagram.)

He also went on to quote from a bizarre sado-masochism manual, as if all gay people—and no straight people—are into that sort of thing. “What does that say about the [gay] community?” he asked, rhetorically.

Not sure about that one, but it does makes me think. What do weaselly city council motions from Toronto mayoral candidates say about the suit-wearing community?

• It’s official: showdown at city hall over Pride funding [Xtra]
• Giorgio’s Same-Sex Media Flashback [Toronto Election News]

Ottawa City Councillors are annoyed to have been flooded with angry, homophobic hate emails this month. The messages—which originated from one man, but were sent from multiple email accounts to presumably bypass the councillor’s email filters—railed hysterically against Alex Munter and the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, which he heads.

City Councillor Rick Chiarelli, who forwarded the hate messages to the police, said that members of the Council were “appalled” with the “threatening and disgusting” e-attacks, calling the content “narrow-minded and unsubstantiated.”

The Youth Services Bureau also commented on the emails, saying: “We have a long history of supporting LGBT youth; it goes right back to the 1980s and we are very proud of our role in fighting homophobia and supporting LGBT youth with our services.”

Good on ‘em!

• Munter target of anti-gay e-mails [Ottawa Citizen]
• Anti-gay emails flood Ottawa city councillors’ inboxes [Xtra]

Nova Scotia’s Pictou County Council is afraid. They’ve got a flag pole outside their administrative building and it’s causing grave concern for councilors. County Warden Allister MacDonald explains:

If the gay community came and said “fly my flag,” we, under human rights, would have to fly everybody’s flag. It could be the Nazi party or the bikers; it could be anyone. And, from what our understanding is, you either fly everybody’s flag [...] or you put a policy in that says “these are the flags we’re going to fly.”

Now, no gay rights group has actually asked the folks at Pictou County to fly the rainbow stripes. Nevertheless, the council has found itself amidst a lengthy and controversial flag banning discussion. Apparently, if a gay rights group ever were to request raising a flag on their pole, the Nazi party wouldn’t be far behind—or, at least, that’s what their understanding is.

Frankly, I don’t think their understanding is very understandable.

In the event that a totalitarian political party from wartime Germany requested to fly their flag in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, there would be no problems refusing their request—what with the unforgivable crimes against humanity and all. But I don’t think the councilors in Pictou were afraid of Nazi flag requests in the first place. They’re afraid of contention.

You see, if a gay rights group were to request that a rainbow flag fly on the administration building’s pole, there would be dissenters in the council—just like there were in Truro. To justify a “no” vote, these dissenters must explain their discomfort with gay people. Unlike explaining one’s rationale against requests from totalitarian regimes of the Third Reich, however, explaining discomfort with gay people would be met with criticism. Rather than face such criticism—or, better yet, the roots of their discomfort—the councilors would rather ban flag-flying requests altogether.

It’s not a particularly honorable stance—and particularly when no flag requests have been made in the first place. As Councilor David Parker put it:

Other municipalities fly these flags routinely of various groups to support their cause and their beliefs and I don’t have a problem with that. We’ve had no policy for 128 years. We’ve had no problem until it became a problem in one person’s mind.

Well said, David.

• Questions raised as Pictou County mulls flag rules [CBC News]
• Homophobia behind flag policy—councillor [Chronicle Herald]

Bill Whatcott, the male nurse who has dedicated his life to hysterically opposing gay rights, is running for mayor of Edmonton.

So what’s his top election issue? Timely road repairs? Discount transit fares for war veterans? Let’s take a look at his official platform’s opening paragraph:

As your mayor Bill Whatcott is committed to protecting Edmontonions from homofascism. Bill Whatcott loves children and he loves truth. He believes children have the God given right to have a mother and father and not have to be indoctrinated into embracing homosexuality by our public schools and media. [...] Homosexuality is wrong and as your Mayor, Bill Whatcott is committed to denouncing homosexuality, warning young people about the consequences of indulging in the practice and calling on those trapped in the homosexual lifestyle to repentance, forgiveness and healing through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Yes, that ought to resonate with the mainstream voter. Oh, and his campaign photo (I swear, this is all real) is a full-torso shot, arms folded behind the back for maximum legibility of his T-Shirt: “Sodomites will not inherit the kingdom of Heaven.”

Of course, though they may try, municipal leaders are about as powerful as multicoloured baby marshmallows when it comes to overriding civil rights. Given this, I think I’ll give Whatcott my full endorsement. Seriously, who’s in for a couple of years of hilarious “Edmonton’s frothy mayor” stories?

(A tip o’ the hat goes out to Pam Spaulding)

• Mayor Stephen Mandel is pro-homosexual Bill Whatcott is your pro-life, pro-family, pro-father, pro-gun, alternative [Whatcott Election Platform]

Rob Ford, a Toronto city councilor, has once again burst an eye vessel over gay issues at a city council meeting. Here’s what our delightful urban hayseed had to say before voting against the funding of Toronto’s Gay Pride Parade:

I don’t think we should be supporting sexuality and that’s where this money is going. That’s what we’re supporting here, madam chair. I don’t believe we should be spending taxpayers’ money supporting your sexuality! If you’re gay great. If you’re not gay, that’s great too. That’s your prerogative. Do we have a straight parade? Do we have a heterosexual parade? Do we fund that? No! So I don’t know why we’re funding other things like that.

A heterosexual parade, eh? Now that would be a spectacle. All those straight couples holding hands in public, flaunting their babies for all to see…

Here’s the thing: Rob doesn’t know what a gay pride parade is. The reason straight pride festivals don’t exist is because it’s not about “supporting sexuality.” Pride parades exist because pride is the opposite of shame—which is what many would still have us feel.

If Rob had ever been to a gay pride parade, he’d note its highly political nature, with groups representing equality advocacy organisations, help for struggling teens, parent support systems, MPs and MLAs, educators, councilors, researchers, corporate sponsors, sport teams, music and theatre groups, veterans, and many others. It promotes diversity, celebrates culture, and—as in the case of Toronto—can be one of a city’s most successful tourist attractions. Of course, I don’t expect Rob to get this any time soon.

Ford was featured on this site last year for voting against AIDS education programs, announcing: “[if] you’re not gay, you won’t get AIDS”. He later apologised, blaming his outburst on “one too many beers.”

Incidentally, the funding for Toronto’s Pride Parade passed overwhelmingly, 36–2.

• Ford slams city for PRIDE grant [Mirror Guardian]

Well, after tallying the results of their news-making homophobic questionnaires, the anti-gay lobby group, Defend Traditional Marriage and Family, have finally announced their endorsements for the upcoming civic elections in Kitchener, Ontario! How splendid!

Every endorsement is, of course, a shining testament to that candidate’s extraordinary anti-gayness. Well… Almost every endorsement.

“I was shocked,” said Jon Huemiller, after reading about the group’s endorsement of him for mayor in a local newspaper. “I wholeheartedly support gay marriage; I am not a closet bigot.” Mr. Huemiller, you see, not only supports equality, but didn’t even respond to the lobby group’s questionnaire, noting that it was still sealed on his desk. “As soon as I saw Defend Traditional Marriage and Family, I thought ‘gay bashing,’” he said.

A spokesperson for the lobby group backpeddled furiously when questioned, saying that—unlike the other candidates—Mr. Huemiller’s endorsement was actually decided on from a telephone interview, not from the results of their questionnaire. Mr. Huemiller confirmed that the group did call one day, but denies that an interview took place. “[They] did all the talking. [They were] trying to persuade me to support their coalition.”

Defend Traditional Marriage and Family has agreed to withdraw the endorsement, though mentioning it “smelled a little undemocratic” to do so. (Uh, OK…)

But hey, that’s the kind of stuff to expect from a group that endorses virulently anti-gay candidates who, even if elected, are utterly incapable of doing anything about same-sex marriage in Canada whatsoever.

Waste that time, sister!

• Candidate rejects group’s support [Ottawa Record]