~ Bill 6-38 a Good Start, but Equality fakes More Than Words

  

 
 

CF Miley, Opinions Editor

e The Way Things Sometimes Are

 

to applaud Canada for becoming
the third country in history to
recognize the rights of same-sex cou-
ples to wed. During a late-night vote
on June 28, 2005, the controversial

I *d like to take this opportunity

ing same-sex couples to marry some-
how demeans the sanctity of
marriage. That argument may have
had legs back when marriage vows
were truly for life, but in these days of
skyrocketing divorce rates, when so
many Canadians have been married
multiple times, the largely religious-
based ideals surrounding same-sex
marriage have been outed for what
they are—homophobia and prejudice.

As a brief aside, have you ever
noticed that the biggest homophobes
often appear to have some latent
homosexual tendencies? I’m just say-
INP...
Back to the topic at hand: With
Martin’s coup of courting the Bloc
into the pro-C-38 camp, Conservative
leader Stephen Harper received
another big old helping of “you got
served” from the minority Liberals.

 

Bill C-38 passed 158-133. With the
bill, supported by a coalition of
Liberals, Bloc Quebecois, and
NDPers, Canada is altering a law
deemed unjust by most of the provin-
cial Supreme coutts in the land. More
importantly, this bill is a step towards
ending Canada’s legislated prejudice.
I’ve never been able to wrap my
head around the argument that allow-

After luring Belinda Stronach away
from the conservatives last month,
Martin managed to broker another
backroom deal before the C-38 vote,
this time with the Bloc. I’d have loved
to see the glazed look of defeat in
Harper’s eyes when he found out that
the bill looked locked to pass. Would
you like some bacon with the egg on
your face, Mr. Harper?

I am left wondering, however,
what Martin offered Bloc leader
Gilles Duceppe in return for his
party’s support? A lifetime supply of
poutine and Pepsi? Even more feder-
al dollars for the Quebec arts? An
even bigger, Paul Martin-sized Bon
Homme suit for next year’s Winter
Carnival? I don’t know exactly what
Martin gave the Bloc, but I’m pretty
sure it involved an android Duceppe
so lifelike that no one will ever know
it’s not the real Gilles sitting through
yet another agonizing two hours of
Cirque du Soleil. Or maybe, just
maybe, the Bloc moved to the side of
the good guys on this issue because it
was the right thing to do. Yeah, and
Hell just froze over and mime doesn’t
totally suck balls.

Regardless of how it happened,
I’m just glad that it happened. The
court of public opinion long ago
ruled that Canadians would no longer
accept blind religious dogma as law a//
the time. Now, if we could just get
some freaking Sunday Liquor Store
action here in BC, we’d all be able to
get drunk, ordain some female minis-
ters, and then have pre-marital gay sex
on the Sabbath, right in front of God
and everything. That would be great.

Although Bill C-38 represents a
move towards equal rights in Canada,
the acceptance in society that some
people are born gay will be the ulti-
mate test of Canadians’ ability to see
one another as what we all are: peo-
ple.

Stephen Harper has already stated
publicly that he will move to rescind
C-38 if he’s elected the next Prime
Minister of Canada.

There can be no true equality in
Canada until sexual orientation does-
n't enter into the equation of civil
rights. But C-38 becoming law is a
step in the right direction.

 

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contact Ivan Revgadas
kinggadas@ yahoo.com

  
 

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Poor W

Brandon Ferguson, OP Contributor

 

 

e all have a favourite number. Maybe
two. Some have as many as six, twice
a week, with a bonus number chosen

at whim for the lotto (never at random, always
whim—who can leave the fate of that much
money up to, well, fate?). It seems that, for what-
ever reason, we identify with numbers that
harken back to days when they were our identity
(a soccer jersey), our benchmarks (a high score),
or a time (the age I found out that everybody mas-
turbates—hooray). Like a Dewey Decimal system
for our memories, there are some numbers that
mean mote to us than others.

Letters, on the other hand, have it rough. The
computer programmer would suggest that every-
thing can be defined by ones and zeroes; but
when we were nothing more than a spot of cos-
mic splooge spelunking around the satin sheets
of amniotic fluid, we were X’s and Y’s. Our first
gift given to us is our name.

Our first sounds are guttural galoshings that
vaguely resemble nubile vowels and drunkenly
slurred consonants. Milestones will litter our lives
as sure as condominiums will continue to clutter
hillsides: first words, first swears, first grades. “I
love you’s,” “I do’s,’ BAs, MAs, PhDs, and even-
tually, hopefully, famous last words. No matter
what they say, we know how these moments are
made—with letters.

Perhaps—despite collecting them in the A-Z
of memory—we don’t pick favourites because
we identify with them too closely. A number is an
integer, but a letter’s an initial. Numbers are tran-
sitory, always moving, forever changing, like
favourite meals, colours, and sexual positions.
But how can you pick one letter over another? Is
it vain to say my favourite letter is B? But I like B.
I'd like B even if my name was George, Herbert,
ot Walker.

July 13/2005