Tag Archives: civil liberties

Nature made a mistake, which I have corrected. – Christine Jorgensen

For years, I have tried to comprehend the feminist claim that gender identity and expression are a men’s rights issue. Finally, I got a little clarity listening to a radical feminist, a former member of the British Labour Party, discuss the issue of trans-identified men’s participation in women’s sports. She said something to the effect that “women’s sports matter more than men’s feelings.” I get it. Radical feminists made trans-identified men’s participation in women’s sports the focal point of their opposition to gender ideology. In doing so, they overlook the fact that it was pro-feminist governments, the Obama Administration in the United States, and the Liberal Government in Canada led by Justin Trudeau, that made gender identity and expression prohibited grounds of discrimination. It was based on Titles VII and IX in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the United States–provisions in the legislation that addressed women’s equality. In Canada, Trudeau openly and proudly proclaimed that he was a feminist and wanted everyone to convert. The Trudeau government amended the Canadian Human Rights Act with the passage of Bill C-16 to include gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination. Continue reading

“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.” ― Benjamin Franklin

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The 2014 Rose Bowl Parade included a float “Love Is the Best Protection,” sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The reasoning behind the inclusion of the float, according to Ged Kenslea, Foundation President, is, “by showing the dream of lesbians and gay men fulfilled, the float is perfect with this year’s Rose Parade theme of ‘Dreams Come True.’” (as cited in Breitbart) The decision to include the float drew a mixed response. One impassioned response comes from a woman who was deeply offended. Angela Wingenroth offered the following comment:

“We don’t care what the states say about it — God is clear that this isn’t right and I will NOT have this SHOVED DOWN MY CHILDREN’S THROATS!! The intolerance is theirs. They will not accept peoples’ objections to their lifestyle — you HAVE to accept that it’s not just ok, but GOOD or you’re a bigot! If they want to get ‘married,’ that’s their choice, but my kids don’t need to see it.” (as cited in American Power)

I expect this is what she was told to think by her pastor and various anti-gay commentators about the fact that gay people are being granted full civil rights in US society. Still, I wonder who, if anyone, called this woman a bigot for feeling this way. Continue reading

Freedom to Read Week 2013

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Today, Sunday February 24, 2013 kicks off Freedom to Read Week in Canada (February 24 – March 2, 2013). As such, it is apropos to say a few words about censorship in Canada. Geoffrey is a librarian; Mika is a bibliophile. Between them they have a personal library collection of approximately 5000 volumes. Having the freedom to read is is something to cherish and not take lightly. Section 2.(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms lists as “Fundamental Freedoms” guarantees “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” In spite of these guarantees in law, the reality is in Canada, a society founded on the principles of pluralism and liberalism, efforts to censor in the form of book challenges are all too common. Public libraries and school libraries are where most book challenges take place. For  more information on Freedom to Read Week in Canada 2013, check out this website: www.freedomtoread.ca. By all means enjoy your freedom to read and never take this freedom for granted.

Posted by Geoffrey and Mika