OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Defense of Religions Act
Church Suspends Gay-Friendly Archibishop
The Anglican Church has suspended a retired Archibishop for blessing a same-sex couple at their wedding. Although the wedding took place in a non-Anglican church and the marriage certificate was signed by a different, non-Anglican minister, Archibishop Terrence Finlay was suspended for officiating over Mary Rowe and Sandra Morris, his longtime friends.
Gee, from what all the anti-gay groups were saying earlier, I thought same-sex marriage was supposed to be a terrifying slippery slope—forcing priests to marry gay couples left-and-right. Who’d have thunk that it’s the priests who’d be forced to refuse their blessings?
And just think! If we get that new Defence of Religions act that Justice Minister Vic Toews promised (because religions are having such a hard time), then a Justice of the Peace or civil marriage commissioner can refuse their officiation, too!
Whoops! Watch your step here, folks; it’s icy!
Conservatives Acting Kind Of Scary
Justice Minister Vic Toews confirmed in an interview this week that the government is planning to introduce the “Defence of Religions Act.” The new act would permit a civil marriage commissioner or a justice of the peace to refuse their public services to gays without consequence.
Oddly, as soon as the popular media picked up on the story, Prime Minister Stephen Harper pooh-poohed the notion, saying that the government is “determined to protect the rights of gay and lesbian citizens.”
Uh… Determined, eh? That, coming from a government that is committed to re-voting on same-sex marriage. A government that happily kneeled to pressure from the anti-gay lobby to delay the vote past its promised timeline. A government that recently appointed a new ontario judge who represented anti-gay groups in a bid to declare same-sex marriage unconstitutional. A government that completely axed its most important (and gay-friendly) equality program despite a massive budget surplus. A government that just appointed the president of Canada’s most hysterical anti-gay lobby group as their newest Chief of Staff. Gee, that sounds pretty determined there, Stevey.
But, don’t worry, folks! Harper says he’s not scary! Although, come to think of it, I don’t recall him saying the same about the rest of his party…
- Tories plan to protect same-sex marriage opponents [Globe and Mail]
- PM denies plan to bolster rights of gay marriage opponents [Canada.com]
