GAY DIFFERENCE: Eleanor Brown

...The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms specifically says that it seeks equality of outcome, rather than the absolute same treatment of individuals. Meaning that equality does not come about when everyone is treated the same. Cultural differences can mean that identical treatment can lead to vast inequalities.

Canadian politicians have no problem with this when it comes to other "minority" groups. Our 1982 Constitution (negotiated by politicians) gives a university the right to post a job ad that allows only applications from women, for example -- as has occurred. It is perfectly legal for an institution to look at its employment make-up, see a vast under-representation of women, and decide to fix that apparent discrimination.

In the same way, an Ontario pilot project is underway allowing Muslims to deal with some civil matters, such as divorce and child custody, in special courts that dispense Sharia law, rather than justice according to "proper" Canadian divorce law.

But in the courts, this concept of different-but-equal has never been applied to gay men and lesbians. Women's culture matters, religious difference matters.... but not homosexual difference.

Everybody gets equality of outcome except us. And that is what's being institutionalized through the Supreme Court of Canada. These gay-positive judges believe in equality, but not in our essential cultural difference. We get to be treated exactly like heterosexuals, regardless of how that impacts us. ...

So marriage, under het rules, is being implemented.So is divorce -- as just occurred recently in a Toronto court by (an anonymous) lesbian couple that got hitched mere months before.

A well-known law professor has recently called for gay men and lesbians to be included properly in Canadian divorce laws, specifically mentioning that adultery should be a ground for gay divorce. Imagine how that fits into the way we structure our relationships. ...

Straight rules don't even work for straights. But this is where we're going: being forced into straight morality despite our gay lifestyles.

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posted by Eve at 4:05 PM | link

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