Equality, Thy Name Is Marriage.

The Senate has passed third reading of Bill C-38 by a vote of 47-21, with three Senators abstaining.

With that, Canada becomes only the fourth country in the world to legislate equality for their citizens who fall outside the category of "straight". For Gay and Lesbian Canadians, this means we will be able to legally wed in any courthouse or city hall.......

........providing public officials in those courthouses and city halls are willing to conduct the ceremony.

Therin lies the rub.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says that the jobs of public officials who voice personal religious convictions that prevent them from performing same-sex marriages will have their positions protected under the Charter of Rights' Guarantee of Religious Freedom.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but there are hundreds and probably thousands of "religious" people , with hundreds and probably thousands of "religious convictions" (read prejudice, bigotry, hatred, backward thinking, self-serving beliefs....) in positions of authority all over the country. There are people who feel that all women should wear veils, that all men should have uncut hair and beards, that men and women should not interact, that only boys should receive an education, that women should remain barefoot and pregnant at home with their seventeen other children, that the punishment for adultery should be stoning (for women) or a hearty handshake and an 'attaboy (for men), that people of different faiths should not marry, that people of different races should not marry, that Sunday is "sacred" and nobody should work, play, sing, dance, or crack a smile that day, that men should be allowed to have a dozen wives, the younger the better.......These people cannot refuse services to a clean-shaven man or a veil-less woman. They cannot refuse to marry a Christian and a Muslim. They cannot refuse to provide service to anyone of any colour, faith, ethnicity or language based on their "convictions".

So why are they allowed to discriminate against homosexual Canadians?

Some officials have stated they fear losing their jobs if they refuse to marry same sex couples. Hell yeah! Would these same people not be tossed out on their bureaucratic asses if they refused to perform other duties outlined in their job descriptions? When they leave their private homes and arrive at their public places of employment, they leave behind their right to pick and choose which of their duties they shall or shall not complete.

Religious institutions; synagogues, temples, mosques and churches retain the right to define marriage and refuse to provide services to same sex couples. That's cool, I'm okay with that, just as long as those religious institutions receive absolutely no support from the public purse. No tax breaks, no protection, no charitable status, no government help, of any kind, at any level.

There are a few kinks to be worked out in the aftermath of this historic time in Canadian history, but today is a time to celebrate right conquering wrong, fairness conquering bigotry.

Thanks Canada.