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TWU is only for PLU...

2/24/2014

2 Comments

 
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TWU is only for PLU...people like us.


Trinity Western University is a Christian-based university in Langley, B.C.

It has stirred a storm of controversy with its proposal to launch a law school.


Why? Because its faculty, staff and students have to sign a contract agreeing not to have sex except if they are in a heterosexual marriage.


Sounds discriminatory?  Absolutely.  Straight people can have sex, as long as they are married; queers cannot have sex, even if they are married.


Queers are not the only target.  


Prospective students must also agree to respect life "from conception to death"; not drink, do drugs, or smoke cigarettes on campus; and to chose only entertainment which is in accordance with biblical priorities.


Leaving aside for a moment the interesting question of how TWU would enforce such  rules, the question is: Can they do that??? In a law school???


The answer, so far, is yes.


The Federation of Law Societies, the national certification body, has approved the TWU application to host a law school despite its discrimination against queers.

The school relies on freedom of religion as a defence.

Some people think that no one should ever be allowed to rely on 'freedom of religion'.  In Quebec, the bill currently before the provincial legislature goes further and says that people in public service cannot wear religious items.  I vigorously disagree with the Quebec approach, which I think is code for discriminating against (in particular) Muslim women.  

But I equally vigorously disagree that an educational institution which is teaching prospective lawyers about the rule of law, including the constitutional requirement of freedom from discrimination, should be able to discriminate against students who want to study there.

The Globe and Mail also disagrees.  Read their editorial on the subject.

The fight is not over.  Despite the approval by the Federation of Law Societies, several province's law societies are considering how to deal with the issue, B.C. among them.


What do you think?  

2 Comments

Where's the line of hate speech?

9/23/2013

1 Comment

 
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The Supreme Court of Canada has drawn the line between what counts as 'hate speech'  - and is therefore prohibited - and what is protected 'free speech'.  In Saskatchewan v Whatcott, Whatcott had circulated pamphlets saying things like "Keep Homosexuals out of schools" and "Keep Sodomites Out of Schools".  
The court said that free speech, including free speech about political issues,  and freedom of religion are  protected rights --  but subject to the limitation that it not be hate speech.
How do you tell if speech is hate speech?  The court said that the test is an objective one:  Would a reasonable person, aware of the relevant context and circumstances, find the speech to expose or likely to expose people to detestation and vilification.   Speech which merely ridicules someone is not hate speech.   Speech in private is not hate speech; and speech directed personally at an individual is not hate speech.



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Trans Legal Defense and Education Fund sues Colorado School

3/1/2013

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In British Columbia, some public schools do and some do not accommodate trans youth.  Roman Catholic school system does not, though this is currently being challenged in a human rights proceeding.

This report from the Transgender Legal Defence and Education Fund:
Complaint Alleges Six-Year-Old Transgender Girl Denied Access to Girls' Bathrooms at School

TLDEF today announced that it has filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of a 6-year-old girl who has been barred from using the girls' bathrooms at her elementary school. For the past year, Coy Mathis, a first-grader at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, CO, has used the girls' bathrooms. In mid-December 2012, the Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 informed her parents that Coy would be prevented from using the girls' bathrooms after winter break. The District ordered Coy to use the boys' bathroom, a staff bathroom, or the nurse's bathroom.

Coy was labeled male at birth, but has always known that she is a girl, and has expressed this since she was 18 months old. Since kindergarten, Coy has worn girls' clothing to school. Her classmates and teachers have used female pronouns to refer to her and she has used the girls' bathrooms, just like any other girl in her school.

The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination against transgender students in public schools. Despite efforts to get the District to reconsider its decision, it has refused to do so. Coy's parents have removed her from school and are home schooling her until this Complaint is resolved.

"We want Coy to have the same educational opportunities as every other Colorado student," said Kathryn Mathis, Coy's mother. "Her school should not be singling her out for mistreatment just because she is transgender."

"By forcing Coy to use a different bathroom than all the other girls, Coy's school is targeting her for stigma, bullying and harassment," said Michael Silverman, TLDEF's executive director, and one of Coy's lawyers. "Through the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, Coloradans have made it clear that they want all Colorado children to have a fair and equal chance in school," he added. "Coy's school has the opportunity to turn this around and teach Coy's classmates a valuable lesson about friendship, respect and basic fairness."

"We have five children and we love them all very much," said Mrs. Mathis. "We want Coy to return to school to be with her teachers, her friends, and her siblings, but we are afraid to send her back until we know that the school is going to treat her fairly. She is still just six years old, and we do not want one of our daughter's earliest experiences to be our community telling her she's not good enough."

In addition to TLDEF, the legal team representing the Mathis family includes Michael Flynn, Lucy Deakins, Jami Mills Vibbert, and Rosario Doriott Dominguez of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

For the latest information on Coy's case, including upcoming media appearances, please follow us on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook. We'll be posting the latest information there first.

Click for a slideshow of Mathis family photos.

Please donate today to help us fight for Coy's rights and the rights of children like her. Your support is critical to achieving a victory for Coy and transgender people everywhere.


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Christian broadcaster violated broadcast standards, Council finds

9/24/2012

0 Comments

 
“It’s Your Call” is a call-in Christian TV program which runs on CITS-TV (CTS Ontario)   After receiving complaints that some of the comments were homophobic, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (Ontario Regional Panel)  held that some of its episodes were discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation.   

Comments and topics in the episodes included characterizing homosexuals as violent and destructive to society, of indoctrinating children and of having a hidden agenda.  Changes to the school curriculum of the Toronto District School Board were also misrepresented.

The Council found that the episodes contained abusive and unduly discriminatory comments that violated the Canadian Association of Broadcaster’s Code of Ethics and its Equitable Portrayal Code in four of the six CITS-TV broadcasts.

The decision of the council was issued on August 29, 2012.



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Pastor convicted of helping 'ex-lesbian' leave US to escape custody battle with her ex partner

8/16/2012

1 Comment

 
A Virginia Mennonite pastor  was convicted August 13 2012 of helping a former lesbian flee the country with her young daughter. Lisa Miller had been in a lesbian relationship and had a child with her partner.  Miller was the birth mother.

Miller  later joined the Mennonite church and renounced her lesbianism.  There was a custody battle between Miller and her ex.  Her pastor, Timothy Miller (no relation) helped her get out of the United States. 

It is reassuring to see a Virginia court recognize the status and rights of the non-bio-mom.
1 Comment

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