Just like many other zeitgeist-fearing cities, Hamilton is showing its support of all things LGBT by sporting several rainbow crosswalks on its streets to act as “a symbol of inclusiveness among the LGBTQ community.”
One of them has black skid marks on it, leading the suspicious to conclude that there has been a heinous act of vandalism: after all, cars should be screeching to a halt before reaching a crossing of many colours, not while on it. Unless you have deliberately hit someone and are accelerating to escape, an act only slightly less hateful than defacing these multicoloured emblems of love, peace and harmony.
We will probably never know who is vandalising these prismatic bridges of diversity and tolerance but at least we can rule out all Anglican clergy, who would rather bear the pain of reciting the Nicene Creed without crossing their fingers than put a black mark on a rainbow.
Debate among city staff as to whether the marks were made deliberately, says Mayor Fred Eisenberger.
Black tire streaks on Hamilton’s new rainbow Pride crosswalk in front of city hall are causing some concern they were deliberately made by a driver spinning tires to vandalize the LGBTQ flag symbol.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger said there is some debate among staff as to whether the marks were made on purpose or are a normal occurrence of rubber wearing off tires on hot pavement in the dead of summer.
“I’m suspicious,” he said. “Just the way it (the marking) sits there. It’s odd that it’s just before and after the crosswalk (and into the crossing).”
When a homosexual couple go to a Christian baker for a wedding cake in the almost certain knowledge they will not get it, they are not so much interested in the cake as destroying the baker.
Similarly, if a homosexual applied to a small evangelical Christian college – the only one in Canada – to become a lawyer, knowing full-well he will be unable to attend because he is unwilling to sign a document agreeing to abstain from sex outside of heterosexual marriage, he is out to destroy the college not obtain a law degree. Aspiring homosexual lawyers won’t have to go through this inconvenience because Canada’s courts have done it for them.
The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to accredit Trinity’s graduates, effectively preventing the law school from continuing to function.
As far as I know, no unmarried heterosexual couples are particularly upset about Trinity’s covenant, even though they are equally discriminated against.
Needless to say, no mainline protestant denominations have offered any support for Trinity Western. Quite the opposite: here is an article by Michael Coren, ex-evangelical, ex-Catholic, some would say ex-Christian and now an Anglican priest in training, supporting the decision.
The Supreme Court of Canada struck a brave blow on Friday for LGBTQ students who would be compelled to attend a proposed law school at Trinity Western University — a small, private, evangelical Christian school in Langley, B.C., whose “community covenant” prohibits sexual relations except among married men and women.
That is to say, they struck a blow for nobody.
“Students who do not agree with the religious practices do not need to attend,” former chief justice Beverley McLachlin wrote. “But if they want to attend, for whatever reason, and agree to the practices required of students, it is difficult to speak of compulsion.”
McLachlin was nevertheless part of the 7-2 majority upholding the British Columbia and Ontario law societies’ decision not to accredit Trinity’s graduates. The societies, as delegated wielders of government power, argued doing so would effectively grant the government’s imprimatur to the covenant and erect “inequitable barriers on entry to the profession”: there would be 60 more law school places available, and some would effectively be unavailable to LGBTQ students thanks to the covenant.
The court decided that was a reasonable application of the law societies’ mandates to oversee the legal profession.
And in so ruling they helped … nobody. Again. Indeed, they might just have killed Trinity Law before it ever admits a student — though Earl Phillips, head of the program, says he suspects there are “many options” available other than the obvious ones: abandoning either the covenant or the law school.
The implications of the ruling are potentially massive. “Canada has a tradition dating back at least four centuries of religious schools which are established to allow people to study at institutions that reflect their faith and their practices,” McLachlin wrote in her concurrence. Many have always admitted students of other faiths (or none), on the condition they respect institutional mores. Today many such institutions receive public money to teach elementary and secondary students. Yet the highest court in the land has decided it’s fine for a government actor to discriminate against grown men and women who want to assemble freely in an entirely private religious institution to learn the law.
It did so in a decision that’s sloppily argued and full of contradictions. Notably, it credits the law societies’ quest for a diverse legal profession without ever considering that an evangelical Christian law school would obviously contribute to that goal. And it veers wildly off the beaten path in an effort to downplay the obvious impingement on the Trinity Western community’s religious freedoms.
I didn’t use to pay much attention to what Anglicans are up to in Singapore but since a couple of my grandchildren have moved there, I have developed more of an interest.
To his credit, the Anglican bishop of Singapore, Rennis Ponniah has issued this statement warning parents that Disney’s new version of Beauty and the Beast has “homosexual content”.
Life, of course, has “homosexual content” but whereas in times past it was largely hidden from view – I remember my mother telling me she was unaware of the existence of homosexuality until she was in her 20s – today it is paraded conspicuously at every opportunity and has become the standard by which our tolerance for others is measured. Or, at least our 21st century replacement of what used to be tolerance for others – see how far you are tolerated if you decline to put a statement you disagree with on a cake, for example.
Now, to make sure we don’t have a repeat performance of my mother’s experience, children have to be made aware, not just that homosexuality exists, but that it is a normal part of life. In fact, it’s probably more normal, more fun, more to be aspired to and more cool than run-of-the mill monogamous heterosexuality with all its tedious trappings like bearing, providing for and rearing the fruit of one’s union. At least, that’s what Disney would like children to believe.
Dear Clergy & Deaconesses,
It is needful that you alert your congregation about the homosexual content in Disney’s re-make of Beauty and the Beast – a film scheduled for screening during the March school holidays.
Disney films for children’s entertainment are usually associated with wholesome, mainstream values. But times are changing at a foundational level. In this new live-action remake of the classic film , the character LeFou is portrayed as gay and a ‘gay moment’ is included in the movie by way of a sub-plot.
Parents are therefore strongly advised to provide guidance to their children about this re-make of ‘Beauty & the Beast’ , and indeed to their children’s entertainment choices in a rapidly changing age. Let us pursue Prov 22:6 ” Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
The Diocese and the National Council of Churches are working on a fuller advisory to our members in the coming week.
With the Lord’s blessing as we shepherd our people.
Canada’s liberal government is introducing legislation to lower the age of consent for anal sex from 18 to 16.
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, apparently oblivious to evolution’s mandate to reproduce, believes the change is dictated by evolution. It would be funny if she didn’t take herself so seriously: “Our society has evolved over the past few decades and our criminal justice system needs to evolve as well.”
I expect all this makes you as proud to be Canadian as I.
The Liberal government is moving to repeal a law that courts and critics have long said unfairly criminalizes the sexual activity of gay and bisexual men.
“Canadians expect their government and their laws to reflect their values,” Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said Tuesday after tabling legislation to repeal a provision of the Criminal Code on anal intercourse.
“Our society has evolved over the past few decades and our criminal justice system needs to evolve as well.”
The law currently bans the sexual act, but there is an exception for heterosexual married couples and consenting adults of either sex over age 18, as long as it does not involve more than two people and is done without anyone watching.
Courts have found the provision to infringe on equality guarantees under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, since 16- and 17-year-olds can consent to all other forms of sexual activity.
The proposed legislation known as Bill C-32 would repeal section 159 of the Criminal Code and prevent charges being laid against those 16 and older who engage in consensual anal intercourse.
The legislation came as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault his special adviser on LGBTQ2 issues.
The MP for Edmonton Centre will work with advocacy groups to promote equality for lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and two-spirited people — a term used broadly to describe indigenous people who identify as part of the community.
Boissonnault, who is openly gay, will also explore the possibility of an apology to LGBTQ2 people whose lives and careers were disrupted by government policies over the decades, or even formal pardons for those convicted under laws now considered discriminatory.
My apologies to readers whose childhood was deprived by an absence of Sooty and have no idea what I am talking about, but I thought this was a good illustration of the fact that there really is a slippery slope. Today Sooty would be gay, have a boyfriend and there would be no scandal. Or he would be a transgender bear.
The idea to introduce a female puppet to Sooty’s children’s TV show in the 1960s was so controversial that the BBC director general had to intervene, a new documentary has revealed.
The suggestion by Sooty creator Harry Corbett caused a furore in the press, which claimed it would “introduce sex into a children’s programme”.
Apparently, there is a need “for the gay community to have a safe space in every corner of the universe.” To that end, a gay pride flag has been launched 31km. above the surface of the earth where the rising sun shone through it, illuminating the rainbow.
If that doesn’t bring a lump to the throat of every ACoC bishop, nothing will.
Gay pride flag launched into space ‘to spread peace’
Planting Peace, a US-based non-profit group that seeks to “spread peace in a hurting world”, launched the flag near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 17 August.
The balloon captured video with a GoPro camera as it floated 21.1 miles (34.1km) above earth for three hours.
Organisers said they wanted to declare space gay friendly, “in a peaceful, beautiful way”.
The Guardian’s Julie Bindel thinks lesbianism is not something you are born with or, as the Anglican Church would have it, something God created you to be, but a choice. She thinks all women should give it a try. That must mean that Vicky Beeching should give heterosexuality a try.
Feminist writer Julie Bindel has claimed that all women should “try” lesbianism.
In an interview with Talking Shop, the Guardian columnist said: “Look at the conditions in which women live under patriarchy – women gain by leaving heterosexuality behind.
“I think lesbianism can be a great liberation for women… why would you not try it?
I have used the Firefox browser for a while because it is the only Windows browser that can be configured to use a monitor’s profile to display colours correctly on a high gamut display.
Now I have two more reasons: standing with Mozilla’s CEO who is in trouble for supporting traditional marriage; being blocked from accessing the okCupid dating website.
Brendan Eich, the CEO of Mozilla, which created and maintains the Firefox web browser, is under fire for having donated $1000 to Proposition 8 in California. Prop 8 was against changing marriage to make homosexual unions equal to heterosexual unions.
Among many protests against Brendan’s ‘politics’, the dating site okCupid is blocking visitors to its site using Firefox and asking them to ditch the Mozilla browser as a way of punishing Mozilla and Brandon for his views.
The champions of tolerance once again have turned into bullies to harass and punish all who disagree with their opinions.
The Toronto District School Board is not known for its staunch social conservatism or as a haven for delicate prudes so, when a few of its members hint that they would like Canada’s nudity laws enforced at the Toronto Pride parade, it’s reasonable to take the request seriously.
“This is a municipal matter and it has to do with the policing and the enforcing of the laws of Canada in the streets of Toronto,” he told CBC News. “If you were to do this in any other ward throughout the city at any other time of day during that same period, you’d likely be arrested.”
Naturally, there have been cries of “homophobia”:
Some have criticized the trustees’ motion as homophobic
Yet, if gay men and women truly want their lifestyle to be accepted as normal, surely they would want to be treated just like everyone else in every circumstance; to do otherwise is discriminatory. By not arresting an individual parading himself naked during the Pride Parade, the police are exhibiting a type of homophobia: the fear of treating homosexuals just like heterosexuals.
RCMP in Fort McMurray are investigating after two rainbow flags were burned outside the first gay pride event in the northern Alberta city.
A group of people took the flags from Bailey’s Pub around 11 p.m. Saturday and subsequently set fire to them in the parking lot.
Michael Kenny, vice-president of Fort McMurray LGBTQmunity, the group that sponsored the event, called the actions “saddening.”
If this had been an American flag, no-one would have been “saddened”, the media would be applauding – or at least smirking -, the RCMP would be indifferent and the youtube video would have 10,000 likes.
The idea to introduce a female puppet to Sooty’s children’s TV show in the 1960s was so controversial that the BBC director general had to intervene, a new documentary has revealed.
