Lesbian couple sues Catholic organization over wedding-reception
dispute
By Meghan Wood
WHILE the national debate on same-sex
weddings
continues, the clash between equality rights and religious rights has
now
turned to a dispute over wedding receptions.
Deborah Chymyshyn and Tracey Smith booked a hall managed by the Knights of
Columbus, a Roman Catholic men's organization, for their wedding in
Vancouver in the fall of 2003. Shortly after, they discovered the
Knights
were not the same as the Elks as they had originally assumed, when
their
rental was cancelled and their deposit was returned.
The hall refused to host the celebration of what it had discovered
would
be a gay marriage. The couple complained that invitations listing the
hall's address for their reception had been mailed and the Knights then
paid for a new hall rental and more invitations.
The women filed a complaint with the B.C.
Human Rights Tribunal and the case was heard just last week,
although
a decision is not expected for weeks or even months. They claim they
were
discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.
Derek Rogusky, vice-president of family policy for href=http://www.fotf.ca/familyfacts/takeaction/061203.html>Focus on the
Family Canada, told CC.com that this case underscores the problem
the
government faces when it claims it can protect religious freedom in the
same-sex marriage debate.
"Even if they're able to guarantee clergy the right to refuse to
perform a
marriage, what kind of freedom is being extended to Knights and other
organizations like it?" he asked. "What happens to photographers and
wedding planners and florists? Do we have to force them to sacrifice
their
values or income because of their beliefs? It's problematic and so far
no
one's given a good answer. You're free to think and believe what you
want
but you can't act on it once you step outside your church or home . . .
that's like Communism."
The Knights claim that a church-related organization is the same as a
church and that freedom of religion extends beyond refusing to perform
a
same-sex marriage.
Janet Epp Buckingham, director of law and public policy for the Evangelical
Fellowship of Canada, said this case will set the precedent.
"It's a very important case and it will affect Christian institutions
across Canada. This is the first case where a religious institution is
being challenged. I don't think any of us anticipated an issue would
come
up so soon."
The women's lawyer told the Globe and Mail that if the hall was
offered to the general public, the religious freedom to refuse to marry
same-sex couples could not be equated to religious freedom for a
non-church organization to refuse the hall rental for celebration of
the
marriage. According to the Knights' lawyer, the Catholic church owns
the
hall.
Down south, the Knights' head office in Connecticut is said to have
paid
upwards of $80,000 to have pro-traditional marriage literature printed
and
distributed among Canadian Catholic churches.
"It shows a sense of solidarity that there's a large grassroots
movement
that is willing to back up traditional marriage," Rogusky said of the
American Knights.
Meanwhile, news outlets including the Globe and Mail and
Montreal Gazette have turned their attention to the financial
support that Focus on the Family Canada receives from its counterpart in the United States.
According to these stories, Focus Canada received about $1.6 million in
services from the American office between 2000 to 2003. But Rogusky
said
the issue was getting more coverage than it deserves -- and he said it
shouldn't be mixed up with the same-sex debate.
"That money was not cash, it was servicess that Focus on the Family US
provides at no cost to Focus Canada," he said. "It's broadcasts and
telephone costs, mailing etc. It's not directed at the campaign on
same-sex marriages. All the funding in Canada comes from Canadians.
"Big firms and companies are providing time and spots to people on the
other side of the issue and this is not being offered to people on our
side of the argument," he continued, calling the support of the
American
Knights a "positive thing."
Buckingham noted that Christian charities are permitted to accept
donations for causes from anywhere in the world.
"There has never been a restriction. Lots of different organizations
receive funds from outside the country all the time," she says. "It's
an
issue of global concern; there are implications of it in their own
country. Many Christian organizations are pouring money into this
issue."
Related stories:
Organizing
God's army against equal rites
His daily radio broadcasts
usually centre on God's will and the everyday hurdles of life, from
disciplining strong-willed children to caring for neglected husbands.
But
this week, in an uncommon call to action, the influential American
founder
of Focus on the Family urged Canadians to join the battle against the
federal government's plan to legalize same-sex marriage.
Globe
and
Mail, January 29
Liberals
Unveil Plans to Legalize Gay Marriage
Prime Minister Paul
Martin says Ottawa had to act after courts in seven of the country's 10
provinces ruled that prohibiting same-sex marriages is
unconstitutional.
To do nothing, he argued, would mean gays and lesbians were being
discriminated against in the remaining three provinces.
Reuters,
February 1
Pastor
appeals same-sex decision
A St. John's preacher is taking
his
fight against same-sex marriage to the Newfoundland Supreme Court of
Appeal. Gordon Young, an evangelical who preaches at St. John's First
Assembly church, argued in vain at the Supreme Court hearing in
December
that cleared the way for same-sex marriage.
CBC.ca, February 2
7
marriage commissioners quit posts
One in every 10 of the
province's marriage commissioners has resigned. Immediately after a
Supreme Court of Newfoundland decision that cleared the way for
same-sex
marriage, the provincial government notified marriage commissioners
they
would have to agree to abide with the law or resign.
CBC.ca,
February 2
Liberals
to speed debate on gay-marriage rights
Hope to win early
vote
on 'agreement in principle' by March; Cotler can't 'foresee how one can
put amendments to this'
Toronto Star, February 2
Churches,
groups wade in
Strong reactions from both sides to divisive
bill; Protection called `bland assertions' by umbrella
group
Toronto
Star, February 2
Churches
still have choices, PM says
Prime Minister Paul Martin moved
swiftly yesterday to reassure religious groups his government's draft
same-sex bill won't compromise their freedoms. "No church, no temple,
no
synagogue, no mosque, no religious official will be asked or forced to
perform a marriage that is contrary to their beliefs," the PM said
following his weekly cabinet meeting.
Edmonton Sun, February
2
Gay
Marriage Opponents Step Up Campaign in Canada
The minority
Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin unveiled draft
legislation to legalize same-sex marriage across the country on
Tuesday,
prompting protests from those who say the bill is a direct attack on
religious freedoms.
Reuters, February 2
Canada
Proposes Legalizing Gay Marriage Across Nation
The
government
acted to prevent discrimination, the prime minister says. The clergy
wouldn't be compelled to preside over such unions.
Los Angeles
Times, February 2
Canada
Lawmakers Craft Gay - Marriage Bill
Justice Minister Irwin
Cotler, upon introducing the bill, said the legislation reflected the
spirit of Canadian rights and freedoms protected under the
constitution.
Associated Press, February 2
Skip
gay marriage vote, Liberal MPs told
A Liberal MP says some
anti-gay marriage backbenchers are being pressured to stay away when it
comes time to vote on the government's same-sex
legislation.
Globe
and Mail, February 2
Clergy
divided on same-sex marriage issue
As the Liberal government
introduced its controversial same-sex marriage bill in the House of
Commons Tuesday, local clergy in Grande Prairie remained clearly split
in
their views on the subject.
Grande Prairie Daily
Herald-Tribune,
February 3
Liberal
MPs clash over gay marriage
Sparks fly at caucus: 'It's now
personal'
Globe and Mail, February 3
No
referendum on same-sex: Liberals
Caucus splits as Martin
refuses to budge on free vote
CanWest News Service, February
3
Also:
Vancouver
Sun
'Legal
chaos will follow' if same-sex bill fails
Canadians face a
new
round of expensive litigation as the issue ricochets from Parliament
back
to the courts if the Liberal bill to permit same-sex marriage is
torpedoed, warns a proponent of same-sex marriage.
CanWest News
Service, February 3
MPs
tiptoe away from same-sex debate
You might have expected the
introduction of the historic same-sex marriage legislation the day
before
to have been the issue that provoked the fiercest debate but it was a
case
of "don't mention the war." One senior Conservative talked to me about
it
in the lobby but I think he got away with it. "We don't want to pour
gasoline on the flames," he whispered. It appears the Conservatives'
early
enthusiasm for using opposition to gay marriage as a bludgeon with
which
to beat the government has waned in the face of internal
dissent.
John
Ivison, National Post, February 3
This
time, Martin goes on principle
Gay marriage, Conservative
suspicions that it's another plot to snooker them notwithstanding, is
anything but a strategic slam dunk for Paul Martin's party. Down the
road,
once it is accepted as a fact of life and the Conservatives' campaign
against it seems incomprehensible, the Liberals will probably be
grateful
they can cite it as part of their legacy. But when it comes to the next
election, which is the only one Mr. Martin need concern himself with,
it's
more likely to lose the government seats than to earn it new
ones.
Adam
Radwanski, National Post, February 3
United
Church agrees
Many followers of Jesus wish to be in
solidarity
with gays and lesbians in their quest for legal marriage
Rev. Dr.
Harold G. Wells, Toronto Star, February 3
Same-sex
backers worry bill will die
They say Tory delaying tactics
could kill legislation
CanWest News Service, February 4
Campaign
intensifies against same-sex marriage
Influential religious
leaders and about 1,000 same-sex marriage opponents crowded inside a
church Saturday to launch the first of many public rallies aimed at
stopping Ottawa from legalizing such unions.
CBC News, February 5
It's
time to think about the children
I know why the judge was
caught off guard. Up until now, the gay marriage debate has focused on
the
rights of adults. The gay marriage bill arose from the conviction
amongst
our political and ideological elites that the raison d'etre for
marriage
was romantic attachment, not procreation. Once the bill passes, the
focus
will shift from "what is marriage?" to "what is family?"
Barbara
Kay,
National Post, February 5
Watch
out MPs, says poll
Canadians want them to vote according to
their riding's views on same-sex marriage.
London Free Press,
February 6
The
Right to Marry, or Not to Marry, Is the Issue Among Canada's
Gays
To read the newspapers here, it might seem as if gay
and
lesbian couples are beating down the doors of Toronto's City Hall for
marriage licenses. But no: While they talk a lot about marriage, they
don't do a lot of marrying.
New York Times, February 6
The
same-sex survival guide
How to defend traditional wedded
bliss
Lorrie Goldstein, Toronto Sun, February 6
Religious
right sends cash north
To fight same-sex marriage in Canada.
U.S. groups taking credit for Bush re-election fund local allies'
efforts
to 'save the family'
Montreal Gazette, February 7
Also:
National
Post | Vancouver
Sun
The
battle is joined
The two sides in the same-sex marriage
debate
have stepped up their lobbying; Brochures, emails, TV ads, websites in
their arsenals
Toronto Star, February 7
The
window was broken in the 1960s
Assuming that the
Wilson-Kelling
epidemic theory of crime can be usefully stretched to cover marriage,
is
gay marriage the broken window? I propose to argue it isn't. The
"window"
was smashed a long time ago, and the wreck has been vandalized ever
since.
The doors, the seats, the wheels and the engine were long gone before
gay
and lesbian couples started eyeing the hood ornament.
George Jonas,
National Post, February 7
U.S.
input on gay bill worries Cotler
Religious groups send money
and services north of the border
Montreal Gazette, February
8
Also: Vancouver
Sun
Movie
chain boycotted over same-sex ads
'They took their family to
a
film and then were inundated with anti-marriage advertisement': Famous
players
National Post, February 8
