Stay out of my bedroom, Harper!

The above video shows Stephen Harper speaking in April, 2005. “Your beliefs, your values, our values are the real Canadian values,” he proclaims at an anti-gay marriage rally, in Ottawa. "And you know my position; you know the position of the Conservative Party of Canada. When elected Prime Minister at the next election, we will bring in legislation that defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman."  That said, it’s clear where Stephan Harper, our Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, stands with regards to same-sex marriage and the rights of all members of the LGBTTQ* community.  It’s also clear that Harper has no hesitation indicating that the Conservative Party of Canada represents and reinforces this belief as a whole.  This lends to the possibility that there is an incentive to incorporate this way of thinking into social policy now that that the Conservative Party holds a majority position of government.  While same-sex couples have had access to marriage since 2005 and he claims that he will not re-open the debate about same-sex marriage (CTV.ca News Staff, 2006), Harper has repeatedly voted against it.  As infuriating as this belief system is, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given that this is part of the typical neo-conservative ideology, which tends to express blatant opposition to gay rights, women’s, and human rights movements (Mullaly, 2007).  Neo-conservatives tend to place much emphasis on “the return to the value norms of the traditional two-parent family and to traditional male and female roles” (Mullaly, 2007). So where does that leave those who lie outside of these “traditional” norms? Given that they believe that the ideal society is “hierarchal, patriarchal, authoritarian, and inequitable” (Mullaly, 2007) and that the Church should act as a moral basis of thinking and behaving (Mullaly, 2007), members of LGBTTQ* (as well as other minority) groups don’t stand much of a chance in achieving a comparable level of social status as say, your typical white, middle-class, heterosexual male.  As homosexuality is becoming more and more socially acceptable, many groups and organizations are taking initiative to promote tolerance, acceptance, and fight for the safety and rights of members of LGBTTQ* groups. However, given that the conservative ideology “decries the progressive changes that have come about from such social movements as feminism, gay and lesbian rights, and multiculturalism” (Mullaly, 2007), this would make it very hard for activists to fight for equality in a conservative society. Allow me to emphasize that pretty much all of these members of the LGBTTQ* group are hardworking, law-abiding, taxpayers who contribute to the economy like anyone else outside of this group.  The only difference is what we do behind closed doors. Uh, seriously? There are also many studies that suggest that LGBTTQ* partnerships are very much the same as heterosexual relationships, in that they fall in love the same way, and experience the same passions, desires, insecurities, and commitment levels as heterosexual partnerships do (Baeccman, Folkesson, & Norlander,1999). According to Mullaly, the ‘Moral Majority’ – the religious, right-wing population of North American, is the foundation of the neo-conservative ideology (Mullaly, 2007). Literal interpretations of the bible have influenced the beliefs of people who adhere to the Catholic Church regarding their attitude towards sexual minorities.  One study has found that 75 per cent of Christian religions ‘condemn homosexuals and homosexuality in the eyes of god’(Rodriguez & Ouellette, 2000). 

Many conservative think tanks, policy makers, and politicians undermine the issue of gay rights and protection laws by claiming that homosexuality is a choice.  For example, take the comments made by John Cummins, the future leader of B.C.’s Conservative Party on Victoria’s CFAX radio, where he claimed that homosexuality is a conscious choice and is no need of protection under B.C.’s Human Rights Act (CBC.ca News Staff, 2011). Now, I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds this unsettling. We pride ourselves as a nation that is accepting and inclusive, but when we have politicians that support an ideology that contradicts this idea, then what kind of future do we make available for those who are considered to be undeserving of certain rights? Despite the fact that John Cummins holds power at a provincial level, not federal, do we have a reason to fear that we may lose the rights that we’ve fought so hard to achieve? Will we move backwards if those who hold these beliefs succeed to indoctrinate the voting majority that we are not entitled to the same protection and human rights as everyone else? I think it’s definitely worth thinking about and discussing.  Now, click the link below if you want to watch Harper squirm as he listens to a young lady’s rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”. Enjoy!

http://unicornbooty.com/blog/2011/05/02/girl-sings-born-this-way-to-ultra-conservative-canadian-pm-stephen-harper/

Julia

References:

Baeccman, C., Folkesson, P., & Norlander T., (1999). Expectations of romantic relationships: A comparison between homosexual and heterosexual men with regard to Baxter's criteria. Social Behaviour and Personality, 27, 363-374

CBC.ca News Staff (May,2011). Sexual orientation rights questioned by B.C. Tory. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/05/12/bc-john-cummins-gay-rights.html

CTV.ca News Staff (2006). Harper declares same-sex marriage issue closed. CTV News. Retrieved from http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20061207/samesexmarriage_vote_061207/

Mullaly, R. P. (2007). The new structural social work (3^rd Ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press

Rodriguez, E.M. and Ouellette, S.C. (2000) Gay and lesbian Christians: homosexual and religious identity integration in the members and participants of a gay-positive church. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39(3), 333-47.