Im not going to debate this anymore. I feel like a hockey coach in the last seconds of a blowout game seven
stop playing defence and just go celebrate! J
Im very happy that this is passed. I am not gay myself but this means a lot to me because of, in general, social justice needs to be universal, and specifically because of gay friends and any gay people that I see being discriminated against. I realize that passing SSM will not mean that bullying of gay kids is going to immediately be dropped, but I do think the equal marriage legislation will change a lot of minds over time.
As I said before, I wanted to mention some names from Laytons original speech, but I cant find that. There was one Ottawa man in the 80s who was thrown from a bridge and killed for being gay that I remember off the top of my head. The Toronto bath house incidents in the 80s come to mind as well, the memories of the men that killed themselves over that. This legislation is for them, and every other gay person that has ever faced discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation. Going forward this bill will make life easier for today and tomorrows same-sex couples, no doubt
but it is absolutely essential that we pause and remember and never stop this remembrance of all of the people that this legislation was too late for and all of the people that were not defended when they needed to be.
There are so many people that need to be thanked for this
wow. When I think of people like Alex Munter at CEM and everyone at EGALE that have worked to make this happen and how many hours they have put into a job where they get absolutely nothing in return except for social justice for a minority, that is just beyond words the gratitude that is felt for those people. This is ultimately a social issue that affects people in purely social and real-life ways, but it had to be dealt with through legal and government based procedures and the politicians (obviously the NDP from day one) that advocated it and made it possible despite at one point massive public opposition deserve countless thanks. Jack Layton should be especially recognized for his opposition to the way the Toronto police handled the bath house incidents in the 80s
he was one of the tragically few that did anything to oppose that rather blatant hate crime.
I should thank a few CFers, shouldnt I? Lets see
Jonathan David & Avatar come to mind off the top of my head, for reminding me that it is possible to be kind, sane, articulate, reasonable AND a same sex marriage proponent all at the same time. Jon also straightened me out quickly the times that I had doubts about SSM (believe it or not, there were times!) and watching him debate the issue (I remember a six-hour chat log with a 14 year old Evangelist from Kentucky!) have made me so much better and coherent when debating it.
Those are just two
I guess Illuminatus also was rational and patient in debating the issue with right-wingers and he deserves thanks for that. I know I am forgetting so many people on here that have advocated SSM and helped me with my own arguments in favour of it, and I sincerely thank you all and apologize for not remembering your names.
There are a bunch of real life people from teachers to friends to relatives that have done so much for me on this issue, and they deserve thank yous and will definitely get those in due time.
God, that sounded like a State of the Union Address, didnt it? Ive wanted to reflect on this after the fact for so long now, and I hope this post does something for a few people reading it and sums up a few peoples feelings
I think it sums mine up.