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The Galloping Geezer
Jack Downey ~ The Galloping Geezer

"Photo Credit to Julie Ann Biggs out on the Mekong River, Cambodia Vietnam Border."

Jack Downey Comments on Canadian Issues to Inform and Amuse.



Same Sex Marriages - Individual Rights vs. Majority Rights.




Canada is founded on Judeao-Christian values and British Common Law, with Quebec having special status of Napoleonic law. Various statutes have been promulgated to guarantee our individual rights and freedoms, but none put the individual before the state. Canada's Freedom of Speech Law does not allow absolute freedom of speech (see Regina v Keegstra Supreme Court decisions.) Same Sex Marriage (SSM) may well not be an absolute right and must not have a negative effect on our culture or the well being of the state.

I am neither for nor against Same Sex Marriage. It does seem, however that, to allow SSM individuals to have the same rights as those within a Heterosexual Marriage (HM) may run counter to what appears to be acceptable for the majority and the stability of Canadian Culture. Should right to SSM obligate a church, temple or synagogue to perform a ceremony contrary to their religious laws?

SSM could have Civic recognition, allowing for inheritance of property, recognition in the work place for time off for funerals and other compassionate days. Tax deductions and benefits could be harmonized to ensure the same equality for individuals within a SSM as there are for a HM. It goes without saying that discrimination against citizens in a SSM must be outlawed. Their rights must be upheld as those of all citizens. But what if those rights infringe on the priority of a stable and effective society. Do the rights of the individual not stop where the rights of the majority begin?

HM, defined as a legal and/or religious union of a male person and a female person, is the primary building block of Canada's Culture. The object of HM is to ensure the protection of the "Breeding Pair" and their progeny. This HM protection has no concern with "LOVE." The survival of the Clan is all-important and the number one priority! The needs of children, for their long period of development, are recognized through the expenditure of state funds, i.e. schools, university, special youth hospitals, and a large number of social agencies aimed at child (and Clan) development. SSM will not answer Canadian's need to increase our present birth rate, which is running at about zero.

SSM's affect massive areas of legislation. Holland has led the way in SSM and has put controls on this relationship that do not apply to Holland's HMs. Examples are: both parties must be citizens of Holland; both parties must be over 18 and SSM cannot adopt children from other counties. For more details see for Holland has made SSM legal but not equal.

Canadian areas where I can see massive disruption, and indeed, even chaos if SSM are voted to be totally equal in Canada:

  • The Canadian Armed Forces cannot function if SSM is implemented within the service. Some problems will be: separate deployments; allotment of married quarters; SSM of different rank levels; field training jealousies; promotions; and command decisions, to mention a few. There is no privacy on warships or in field deployments. Anyone with any service will agree that SSM will not work and the CAF's would suffer grave consequences to good order and discipline. (Yes, we know Alexander the Great and his army were homosexuals in the main and had wives and families at home. Historical arguments are superfluous.)
  • The RCMP will encounter similar problems as the CAF, in particular with postings to rural or remote stations.
  • There will be a huge influx of outlanders applying for Canadian Citizenship to have SSM, flooding our Immigration system.
  • There will be an increase in AID's hospitalization costs, though not a SSM disease there is a higher ratio in the 'Gay' community.
  • If SSM is to be symbolically performed, a different ceremony should be developed so as not to trivialize the historic and honored HM ceremony.
  • Male SSM couples should not expect our High Commissions or Embassies to provide protection if they travel to countries where Sodomy is considered a crime (some still have the Death Penalty for sodomy).
  • Sodomy between consenting adults when BOTH parties are over 18 yrs is no longer a criminal offense in Canada. The Canadian Criminal Code says: "159. (1) Every person who engages in an act of anal intercourse is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

    Exception

    (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any act engaged in, in private, between
    (a) husband and wife, or
    (b) any two persons, each of whom is eighteen years of age or more, both of whom consent to the act.

    Idem (3) For the purposes of subsection (2),
    (a) an act shall be deemed not to have been engaged in in private if it is engaged in in a public place or if more than two persons take part or are present; and
    (b) a person shall be deemed not to consent to an act"
  • Current legal rights and arguments for Gay Couples are at: http://www.familyllc.com, this site out lines the tremendous problems that affect a SSM v HM in the USA. The majority apply to the legal and financial problems that will require new legislation in Canada.
    There are many other sources on the subject, but I found these to be helpful in 'Answering a Question that has no clear Answer':

    Some clarity can be found in these HTMLs www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marh.htm
    Worldwide legal situation on SSM is outlined in:
    hom_marr_menu.htm

    np020704.htm

    27_4_p12.htm
  • Gays are estimated to be 10% of any population. Probably a small percentage of these want the formal option of marriage in the HM format. It is essential to remember that divorce is not possible under the current SSM legislation and therefore no financial protection is afforded in a SSM break down. Discrimination will not be reduced, but rather increased, due to huge concessions that the majority will have to be willing to grant. Would the SSM couple pay School Tax? Would they be allowed to live together in prison? Would financial agencies and Insurance companies accept this union? In a separation, who will take the children? In simple legal terms, which one is the wife or husband? If immigrants, do they have the right to bring in their 'kin' to Canada. Will artificial insemination using the sperm or ovum of a SSM spouse, for pay, allow the donor to receive Parenthood time off? You tell me. This is a conundrum on the horns of a dilemma.
Legalization of SSM is a major change in Canada's cultural direction. Be you 'for' or 'against' you need to provide direction to the Prime Minister and your MP. SSM is slated to be a "free vote" in Parliament- ensure your MP knows what you want. Forward the 3 HTML above so that he or she has a clear understanding of this up coming vote.

"My pledge is that this government will listen to all Canadians, wherever they live in Canada. We will govern in the interests of all Canadians regardless of who they voted for."

-- Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Your PM's and MP's E mail: email list
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