OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Margaret Somerville
Meet The Anti-Gay Lobby: Margaret Somerville
Who’d have thought one could make a career out of being scared of change and gay people? In this exciting series of slaptacular mini-bios, we take a look at the very special, terrified folk who are lobbying against your rights.
Name: Margaret Somerville
Butchified Name: Marg
Favourite Food: Anything painstakingly prepared by an obedient wife over a vintage 50s electric stove
Actual quote: “It’s a big mistake to think marriage is really about two adults’ public commitment to each other and a declaration of their love.”
Margaret Somerville reacts to a gay wedding card at the Hallmark store.
What she does: Margaret currently teaches a seminar on torts (not to be confused with tortes, which are much, much tastier) at the law department of McGill university, but is much better known for preparing rich, flaky, anti-gay testimony to go. Margaret has not only testified against same-sex marriage here in Canada, but regularly travels abroad acting as an expert witness to try and stop gay marriage in strange and foreign lands. Margaret calls herself an ethicist, heading the Centre for Medicine, Ethnics, and Law—which she created.
Harshest Reality Check: It’s a three-way tie! In 2006, Margaret’s nomination for the Order of Canada was rejected because she was deemed “too controversial.” Later, Ryerson University went on record to say they regret giving her an honorary degree. The real kicker, though, has to be the complete dismissal of her testimony before the Iowa District Court. After travelling all the way to Iowa to testify against same-sex marriage, the courts had this to say about Somerville and two of her colleagues at McGill:
The Court concludes that these individuals are not qualified to testify as experts regarding the issues in this matter. [...] Though these experts desire to make statements regarding gender, results of same-sex marriage on children and the universal definition of marriage, they do not appear to possess expertise in relevant fields such as sociology, child development, psychology or psychiatry. Ms. Somerville specifically eschews empirical research and methods of logical reasoning in favor of “moral intuition.” She has no training in empirical research and admits having no knowledge of existing social science research relevant to this case. She concedes that her views do not reflect the mainstream views of other ethicists.
Oh, burn!
Party invitation index: Hmm… I’d give her an 8, just to see how an ethicist does at a game of Scruples after a few drinks.
(A special hat tip goes to Dr.Dawg over at Dawg’s blog for alerting me to Somerville’s involvement and subsequent amusing thrashing at Iowa’s courts.)
- Q&A with pioneering ethicist Margaret Somerville [Maclean's Magazine]
- PDF of Iowa Court decision
Canada Day Update
Well, it’s the long weekend! And to celebrate, I’ve prepared this amazing Canada Day Update in advance to let you know how some of the stories I’ve been tracking have progressed. Uh, also I’d like to take some time off to bask in the hot Canadian sun…
Gay Mounties Wed
Jason Tree and David Conners, the two gay Mounties whose marriage plans made international news, have wed! (Congrats, guys!) When pestered by all sorts of media, Tree said he was confused by all the attention their little wedding has been getting.
We don’t see our wedding as anything different or special. Our goal was to get married, not have an international media story.
Oh, and Conservative MPs are still disallowed to comment on the event. You know, because our crazy prime minister trusts his caucus so.
Homophobia Honored
Although Toronto’s Ryerson University has stated it now regrets its decision, an honorary degree was still conferred to a notorious homophobe, Margaret Somerville—at the same time as the city’s Pride Week opening ceremonies, might I add. During her acceptance speech, Margaret tried to comfort the protesters at the event.
As we all know, some people are hurt by some of my views. I want to say that, although I believe that I must stand by those views, I genuinely regret the hurt that causes them.
Gee, Margaret. That’s so touching. Thanks for accepting a degree that first the students, then the university itself didn’t want to give you.
No Jail Time for Gay Attack
Nick Demers, who punched a gay man in the face for dressing colourfully during Edmonton’s Pride Week celebrations last year just received a six-month conditional sentence for the attack. That means no jail time, folks. But at least his court-ordered apology sounded sincere. That ought to be enough to satisfy everyone, right?
Well, regardless. That, kiddos, is the Canada Day Update! Happy Canada Day long weekend, everyone!
Pride Week Quiz
It’s that time of year! Cities everywhere are celebrating Pride, and Canada’s largest, Toronto Pride Week, is exactly one week away! But one urban university—located a stone-throw away from the heart of Toronto’s vibrant gay community—is celebrating in a very special way.
Ryerson University will be presenting an honorary degree to notoriously anti-gay lobbyist, Margaret Somerville. And they’ve scheduled it to coincide with the Pride Week opening ceremonies. How thoughtful!
Anyway, Margaret—actually, shall we call her Margey? Margey is an “ethicist” and played a vital role in the equal marriage debate’s losing anti-gay side. Uh, let me see if I can recall her arguments here…
Oh, yes, of course. Margey claimed that children of same-sex parents (whom she calls “gaybies,” I kid you not) lose their fundamental human rights through same-sex marriage. Oh, but “civil unions” for same-sex couples are OK with her. You know, because “civil unioned” couples can provide so much more for children than couples under the “marriage” label.
Regardless, students at Ryerson University have started an online petition to disinvite Margey from receiving the honorary degree. I wish them the best of luck. Because otherwise anything an “ethicist” says must be true, right?
- Ryerson to honour gay marriage critic [Toronto Star]
