| | the other press e SaraJames e otherpress@hotmail.com September 10, 2003 posing Same-sex Marriage roups Rally in Vancouver Sara James News Editor Thousands of same-sex marriage oppo- nents and advocates participated in sep- arate rallies held the morning of August 16 along the streets of downtown Vancouver. The presence of dozens of Vancouver police ensured the protests remained peaceful. The two groups, separated by a barri- caded buffer zone, began their rallies in front of the BC Supreme Court. According to Vancouver police Media Liaison Officer and Departmental Spokesperson Constable Sarah Bloor, the intention of the buffer zone was to put “distance between the two groups so that there was no violence toward either side.” Bloor stated the highly visible police presence was to ensure the “safety and peaceful objectives of the organizers were met.” Several groups organized the rally opposing same-sex marriage and Bill C- 250. The principle group was the Canadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values Association (CASJAVA). Diverse religious participants included Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians. Bill C-250 is a proposal to the amendment of the hate propaganda section of the Criminal Code to include “sexual orientation” in the definition of “identifiable group”. Many of the participants in the rally advocating same-sex marriage came from the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and trans-gendered community (LGBT). Asked which group first notified the police of their intentions to hold a rally, Bloor said, “The original group was the Canadian Christian Society that planned to host their own rally and then there was a counter-rally planned by the LGBT community. It’s just a matter of allowing both sides to express their opinions.” She estimated upward of 3,000 par- ticipants in the Canadian Christian Society organized rally and approxi- mately 750 supporters of the LGBT community. As participants in the CASJAVA organized rally began their two-block march to the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG), same-sex marriage advocates gave speeches upon the steps of the courthouse. Speakers included NDP MP Svend Robinson. Robinson heard of the original rally through constituents and people from the gay and lesbian community. In response to recent statistics indi- cating potential defeat of the bill pro- posing the legalization of same-sex mar- riage, Robinson replied, “What has to be understood is that the charter will be respected, and if elected representatives don’t respect the charter, then the courts will ensure that it is respected.” Afterward, several same-sex marriage supporters marched toward the VAG where the police again established a buffer zone between the two groups. The only visible confrontation occurred between Michael Clarke, a passer-by and a handful of LGBT sup- porters. Clarke angrily objected to the “group not allowing these people [same-sex marriage opponents] to speak.” A self-proclaimed gay black minority member of the LGBT com- munity replied, “they are speaking, and rr Page 4 e_http://www.otherpress.ca they're speaking freely.” The heated debate between the two men drew sev- eral camera crews and onlookers as the faces of the two men came within inch- es of each other. Their disagreement ended after several minutes. One group participating in the CAS- JAVA organized rally was pro-life organization BC Parents and Teachers for Life (BCPTL). Ted Hewlett, a member of BCPTL, stated that he is not against homosexu- als, but is against “their leaders” whom he feels have a totalitarian approach. He also stated that he believes people should not have special rights because of their sexual orientation. Hewlett said, “If any two people can be married, that provides for incestuous unions being recognized by the govern- ment, and [it] certainly applies to polygamy. We don’t want the govern- ment stamp of approval on this.” Canadian Alliance MP for Dewdney- Alouette, BC, Grant McNally, arrived just as both rallies were ending. Asked about his position regarding same-sex marriage he said he was “in favour of upholding the traditional def- inition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.” McNally would like to see the issue debated in parliament before a court decision is made. He commented that many people have contacted him to express their frustration with the cur- rent process regarding the definition of marriage. They feel the decision should be made “in the house of commons and not by appointed, un-elected judges.” Photos by Sara James Regarding Bill C-250, McNally feels the Bill “is unnecessary because any- body that participates in a hate crime or a violent crime is already going to receive the full force of the law...in many ways it’s redundant.” One same-sex marriage advocate explained that under current legisla- tion, if his partner dies, he isn’t entitled to the same rights and benefits as het- erosexual couples. He stated that he lacked the same tax breaks and that when gay couples separate, they can’t sue for custody of children. One observer of the rallies, an elderly woman visiting from Victoria, said she couldn't understand what the fuss was about. She said she believes gays should be entitled to a legal same-sex union, but that the word marriage should remain for heterosexual couples. She observed that her gardener, recently separated from her partner, demonstrated that gays were no less infallible than heterosexuals. Passionate support for both sides of the issues did not come between class- mates participating on opposite sides. Political Science students attending the New Westminster campus of Douglas College, exchanged greetings and warm smiles, their mutual respect for each other apparent. Student, Cheryl Kaysser, expressed concern that Bill C-250 could turn reli- gious material into hate crimes. Both rallies ended shortly after noon without incident. Many of the same-sex marriage and Bill C-250 opponents returned home on the buses that brought them to the rally.