March 1, 2005 | le 1 mars 2005 Volume 1, No. 7
EQUAL MARRIAGE OPPONENTS MAP OUT THEIR STRATEGY TO WIN THE ³WAR² AGAINST EQUALITY   One of the best-funded groups working to stop equal marriage legislation has admitted its strategy to win the ³war² is to drag the issue out as long as possible ­ perhaps even trying to prevent it from coming to a vote.   ³The single factor that will do more to determine the outcome of this fight is which side lasts longer, and can keep up the momentum,² says a message from the Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy, headed by Link Byfield. Mr. Byfield is a long-time right-wing activist from Alberta.   The Citizens Centre has launched a Canada-wide billboard and bumper sticker campaign aimed at what it calls the ³the heart of the gay marriage political war zone.²   Next week the Citizens Centre's "Gay Marriage? Let the People Decide!" message will appear on a huge electronic billboard overlooking Highway 403 and Main Street West, the main highway intersection from Hamilton to Toronto. More billboards are coming in Niagara, Cambridge and along the Gardiner Expressway, calling for a national referendum.   If you have not yet had a chance to contribute to Canadians For Equal Marriage, to help our grassroots campaign to match the efforts of groups like the Citizens Centre, please go to www.equal-marriage.ca/donate.php right now.	Canadiens et canadiennes pour le droit égal au mariage a besoin de votre aide!  Canadiens et canadiennes pour le droit égal au mariage a besoin de votre aide! Le Canada se trouve à un moment historique. Avec votre aide, le Canada deviendra un leader mondial dans le domaine de la protection des droits humains en légalisant le mariage des couples de même sexe partout dans le pays.   Quatre étapes pour assure le droit égal au mariage : 1.    ACTION AUX DÉPUTÉS 2.    SIGNER NOTRE PÉTITION 3.    FAIRE UN DON 4.    INFORMER VOS AMIS Canadians for Equal Marriage Needs Your Help! Canada is at an historic moment. With your help, Canada could soon become a leader in human rights, internationally by legalising same sex marriage across the country.   Four steps to ensure equal marriage: 1.    MP ACTION 2.    SIGN THE PETITION 3.    DONATE TO CAMPAIGN 4.    INVITE YOUR FRIEND
Ironically, groups that have long called for Parliament to decide this issue ­ rather than the courts ­ are now mapping out a strategy apparently designed to prevent Parliament from deciding.   ³Be aware of one thing: Even if the Bill passes second reading, it is a long way from finished. It must then go to committee for detailed examination, then back to the House for third reading debate, and then through all the same stages in the Senate,² the Citizens Centre has advised its supporters. ³At any of these stages, it can be defeated -- or quietly suspended by the government from further debate.²   ³Clearly, those who oppose equality are focused on using the defeat of the bill ­ or even preventing passage of the bill ­ as a launching pad for years of divisive, acrimonious debate aimed at rolling back the clock on human rights,² says Alex Munter of Canadians For Equal Marriage. ³We need to help ensure the bill is adopted in order to bring closure to this issue.²   Meanwhile, debate on the marriage legislation continued in Parliament last week. Parliament is not sitting this week.   Nearly 200 MPs have registered to speak on the bill so debate will continue for some time. Once debate is completed, a second-reading vote will be held. This is the vote that approves the bill in principle. If the bill is defeated at second reading, it¹s over. If it passes, it goes to a legislative committee of 13 members.   The Liberal Party is represented on the committee by Don Boudria (Ontario), Françoise Boivin (Quebec), Paul Macklin (Ontario), Anita Neville (Manitoba) and Michael Savage (Nova Scotia). The Conservatives have Rona Ambrose (Alberta), Gord Brown (Ontario), Rob Moore (New Brunswick) and Vic Toews (Manitoba). The Bloc Québécois has Richard Marceau and Réal Ménard, who is openly gay. The NDP will be represented by Bill Siksay (British Columbia), who is also openly gay.   Deputy Speaker Marcel Proulx will chair the committee.   IN THE NEWS :: DANS LES MANCHETTES United Church Moderator Hosts Parliamentary Breakfast On Marriage   ³I came to Ottawa today, not to tell Members of Parliament that everyone in The United Church of Canada agrees with and supports same-sex marriage. That is not the case. God knows, we have struggled over the years whenever sexuality issues surface and the diversity of opinion within our own church challenges us as a community of believers in Jesus Christ,² says the Moderator of The United Church of Canada, the Right Rev. Dr. Peter Short. The Moderator delivered this message at a news conference this morning in Ottawa following a parliamentary breakfast that he hosted for MPs who were invited to share in a dialogue about marriage. Also present at the news conference was the United Church¹s General Secretary of the General Council, the Rev. Dr. Jim Sinclair. MORE    Le premier ministre de Terre-Neuve se prononce en faveur des mariages gais   Presse canadienne, le 17 février 2005 -- Le premier ministre conservateur de Terre-Neuve, Danny Williams, a affirmé jeudi qu'il appuie les mariages entre conjoints de même sexe, prenant ainsi une position diamétralement opposée à celle du chef conservateur fédéral.   "D'un point de vue personnel, j'appuie les mariages gais, a dit M. Williams au cours d'une entrevue. J'ai pratiqué le droit pendant 30 ans, me suis battu pour la justice sociale, ai cru dans les droits des minorités et ai cru dans les droits et libertés individuels en vertu de la Charte des droits."   M. Williams a pris soin de ne pas critiquer le chef conservateur fédéral, Stephen Harper, mais ses commentaires suggèrent que la question des mariages gais crée également des dissensions au sein des conservateurs, comme elle le fait pour les libéraux.   Stephen Harper, comme la plupart des conservateurs, a promis de lutter contre le projet de législation des libéraux visant à modifier la définition légale du mariage. MORE   Williams speaks out in support of gay marriage   The Globe and Mail, February 18, 2005 -- Danny Williams, Newfoundland's outspoken Conservative premier, said Thursday he supports same-sex marriage, offering a rationale that is diametrically opposed to the position taken by federal Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.   With Harper once again under fire for his stance on the controversial issue, Williams split with his federal counterpart to say he personally supports the rights of gays and lesbians to legally wed.   "From a personal perspective, I actually support gay marriages," Williams said in an interview. "I practised law for over 30 years and championed social justice and believed in minority rights and believed in the rights and freedoms of individuals under our Charter of Rights."   Williams was careful not to criticize Harper, but his comments suggest the division dogging the Liberals on gay marriage is also creating a widening rift within Tory ranks. MORE    Gays against bill: Mills MP talks about same-sex marriage   Red Deer Advocate, February 26, 2005 -- Red Deer MP Bob Mills said even his gay friends oppose the same-sex marriage legislation because it creates hatred and conflict.   "They say, 'We're living happily in Red Deer, doing our own thing. What we do in our bedroom you'd never ask and we'd never tell you,' " said Mills, referring to two gay couples he calls friends. "They say now the government has set up antagonism and a rift between people.   Mills spoke to about 50 residents Friday night at the Sylvan Lake Community Centre on the thorny issue of same-sex marriage. Mills said the Liberal government is fuelling the debate to deflect attention from the federal sponsorship inquiry, headed by Justice John Gomery. If the government was serious about dealing with the issue, it would allow gay couples to unite under social contracts.    Harper stoops lower than low   The Sunday Herald, February 27, 2005 -- During the last federal election, I thought Conservative leader Stephen Harper could not possibly stoop lower than he did when he refused to apologize for his party's accusation that Prime Minister Paul Martin supported child pornography. I was wrong.   During the recent same-sex debate, Harper attacked the Liberals' human rights record with these words: "Let us not forget, it is the Liberal Party that said, 'None is too many,' when it came to Jews fleeing from Hitler. It is the Liberal Party that interned Japanese Canadians in camps on Canada's West Coast . . ."   Let us not forget, those are slimy accusations. I'm not keen on the Liberals myself, but I will never vote for any party whose leader tries to make political hay out of both the Holocaust and a crime against Japanese Canadians that occurred before most of his opponents in the Commons were even born.   The Liberals, Mr. Harper, have no monopoly on human rights violations, or racist acts.   It was the Conservative government of Sir John A. Macdonald that passed Canada's first blatantly racist immigration legislation. The Chinese Exclusionary Act imposed a $50 head tax on Chinese immigrants.    Knights gear up for battle   Toronto Star, February 26, 2005 -- For 14 years, the seven members of the Hough family have attended the same mass at St. Mary's Church, the oldest Roman Catholic parish in New Haven.   A short skip and a jump from the Yale University campus, the church is known for its emphasis on tradition - "smells and bells," as one parishioner describes it - and for its close association with the Knights of Columbus, the huge Catholic fraternal service organization for which St. Mary's is the spiritual home. It is this last group that recently launched an ambitious and highly publicized postcard campaign, from here in the United States, aimed at opposing Bill C-38, which would allow same-sex marriages in Canada.   After a recent mass, family patriarch and computer engineer James Hough and his three boys gathered in the church entrance to discuss the spectre of gay marriage in Canada, not to mention the "misinformed" Catholic faith of Prime Minister Paul Martin, one of the main backers of the bill.   "He doesn't know what he's talking about," says Ryan Hough, 27, who serves as an incense bearer at the church. "(If he believes in same-sex marriage) then he isn't Catholic. The two are mutually exclusive. When you start talking about special interests when talking about your faith, you have to question their moral character."   "At the very best you can say he is misinformed on principle," says his brother Mark, a businessman.   Youngest brother Patrick, a political science student at Princeton, adds, "This cannot be changed. This isn't a democracy."   FACTS AND FIGURES :: FAITS ET CHIFFRES   DES PANNEAUX-AFFICHES MOBILES À L'APPUI DU MARIAGE ÉGAL   Comme vous l¹avez peut-être déjà constaté, des opposants du droit égal au mariage ont érigé des panneaux-affiches à travers tout le pays. En contrepartie, certains défenseurs du droit égal au mariage ont transformé leur propre voiture en panneaux-affiches mobiles afin de démontrer leur APPUI du mariage égal! Samedi dernier, cinq voitures ont été transformées pour un coût approximatif de 30,00 $ par voiture. Les affiches peuvent être enlevées, afin d¹éviter que les voitures soient vandalisées lorsqu¹elles ne sont pas sur la route. Excellente idée! Merci pour votre appui!   MOBILE BILLBOARDS IN SUPPORT OF EQUAL MARRIAGE   As many of you may already know, opponents of equal marriage have been erecting billboards across Canada. To counter this, a number of equal marriage supporters have turned their own vehicles into mobile billboards in SUPPORT of equal marriage! Five cars were done on Saturday at a cost of approx $30.00 per vehicle. The signs are removable, so that the vehicles do not become targets of vandalism while not being driven. Great idea! Thank you for your support!
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