The Liberals need to clean house in Toronto

First off, I'm thrilled that the Conservative motion to re-open the same-sex marriage debate was soundly defeated, by a margin of 175 to 123.

I am less happy about the fact that 14 Liberals voted in favour of the Conservative motion. I am horrified that 8 of these MPs represent Toronto ridings: John Cannis, Roy Cullen, Jim Karygiannis, Derek Lee, John McKay, Dan McTeague, Alan Tonks and Tom Wappel. Aren't Canada's cities supposed to be the bastions of progressive voters? These are easy Liberal seats, and yet the party continues to allow these conservative troglodytes to run there under their party's banner.

It's time for some house-cleaning, M. Dion. MPs who can't be counted upon to support Charter rights have no business running for your party, if you're serious about having the Liberals be the party of the Charter.

Finally, kudos to the Conservative MPs who broke party ranks to support equal rights for all Canadians!

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Grandfathering the gays isn't good enough

There's a little bit of fun alliteration for a Tuesday morning! But my title speaks to the government motion to be introduced in the House of Commons today:

“That this House call on the government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions and while respecting existing same-sex marriages.”

As tempting as I might find it to be part of an exclusive cohort of married gay couples in Canada, this resolution is odious, and should be soundly defeated. Moreover, I would strongly urge Stéphane Dion to whip the caucus on this vote. I supported the NDP decision to do so on Bill C-38, and I think the Liberals need to follow the same path if they are to have credibility on this issue in the next election. And if this drives out the Tom Wappels and Dan McTeagues from the party, so much the better. The social conservative wing of the party is long overdue for a swift kick in the pants - possibly right out the door.

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Preserving equal marriage - how to contact your MP

Since Stephen Harper is apparently keeping his election promise to hold a "free" vote on re-opening the debate over same-sex marriage, I would encourage any supporters of same-sex marriage, or even those who think that it is time for the Canadian government to move on to more pressing issues, to contact their MP and let them know how you feel. As someone who has been legally married to my husband for two-and-a-half years, I personally find it abhorrent that MPs might vote to try to undo the legal rights (and obligations) that we have won.

Two useful websites that have been tracking this issue, and have handy links to your MPs email address are Canadians for Equal Marriage and MarriageVote.ca. MarriageVote has also been tracking the voting intentions of each MP, so you can find out whether your MP is in favour of same-sex marriage, strongly opposed, or waffling and could be convinced one way or the other. Here in my own neck of the woods, North Nova MP Bill Casey is apparently on the fence.

You can be certain that all MPs are being bombarded with anti-same-sex marriage emails from members of organizations like Focus on the Family. A quick personal email message appreciating their past support for same-sex marriage, or urging them to change their vote might be somewhat useful in changing a few minds.

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South Africa moves forward, Canada contemplates a step back

As Stephen Harper announces that there will, in fact, be a vote in the House of Commons about whether Canada should re-visit the same-sex marriage debate, with debate to start on December 6th, I thought it would be worth noting that another country is rapidly heading in the opposite direction. South Africa has now passed its same-sex marriage bill through both the lower and upper house of its Parliament, and the bill is expected to be signed into law by Thabo Mbeki by the end of the week.

To any Conservative or Liberal MPs who are waffling on whether or not to vote "yes" on this motion, I would strongly urge you not to. Short of invoking the notwithstanding clause, there is no other way to turn back the clock on this issue, and even then, there have been over 10,000 same-sex marriages in Canada since the courts handed down their first rulings in Ontario and BC in 2003 which would have to be addressed - including mine. It's time to redirect the focus of Parliament to more productive ventures, which aren't going to be slapped down by the courts at the first challenge - even without the help of the now-cancelled Court Challenges program.

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Arizona stands alone

Permit me a moment, in a hubbub of American election analysis, to draw your attention to the voters of Arizona, who stood against the tide, and rejected a ballot proposition to ban same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, it looks like the other seven states where this proposal was on the ballot have opted for the politics of exclusion - most notably in Tennessee, with 80% support for this measure.

I was hoping for something better out of Wisconsin, Colorado, or Virginia. But it's not to be, as a majority of American states have now passed this sort of measure.

Thank-you, Arizonans!

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