The war is not over yet, but another battle has been won. I have to say, that this issue is one that really perplexes me. Maintaining the definition of "traditional marriage"? As far as I know, traditional marriage doesn't have room for adultery or divorce either. Should we make those illegal too? Maybe the Tories would try to do exactly that if given a "mandate" (hip new word for freedom to destroy democracy and the separation of church and state), maybe they can try to reinstate the traditional role of women, or the traditional role of minorities too.

I wrote a letter to Paul Martin to thank him for all the hard work he has done in defense of the right to marry. This is my letter, followed by the response:

Dear Rt. Honourable Paul Martin,
I am a Canadian citizen currently living and working in South Korea. I have been following the
issue of gay marriage in Canada very closely and know that your government will table legislation this week, legalizing gay marriage. I want you to know how proud I am of you, the Liberal party and of Canada. Our willingness to extend rights, protection and respect to all members of society is what makes us great. In an increasingly conservative political climate, it takes guts to stand up and do what you know is right.
You are making our country greater and opening doors for people who have been knocking at them for a long time.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Caroline E. Knox
Daegu, South Korea

Dear Ms. Knox:
On behalf of the Right Honourable
Paul Martin, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your recent e-mail regarding
same-sex marriage.
Please be assured that your comments have been carefully reviewed. Given his responsibilities for this matter, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your e-mail to the Honourable Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, who, I am certain, will also appreciate being made aware of your views and will wish to give them every consideration.
Thank you for writing to the Prime Minister.
L.A. Lavell
Executive
Correspondence Officer
Agent de correspondence
de la haute direction

Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, it frustrates me to no end that the religious right and conservatives (who evidently have nothing better to do than run around trying to limit the rights of others) have engaged in a national letter-writing campaign and that whole churches will spend their Sunday school hours instructing five-year olds to write to the Dark Lord in Ottawa and stop the gays from taking over the world. The other side needs to say something too. That's the problem with being liberal, you tend not to get involved in other people's business. You tend to be more flexible and less stubborn. You tend to be less radical and therefore less vocal. Ultimately, you are less heard.

Incidentally, I interviewed Pat O'Brien (one of the loudest "defendants" of traditional marriage) several times about different topics and I found him to be intolerant and prejudiced, not to mention a little ignorant. He was opposed to sexual-orientation becoming protected under Canada's hate crime laws. That's right, he wanted to make sure that gay-bashing didn't result in harsher penalties. Because, otherwise, what would he and his friends do on a Saturday night?
He also spewed the same nonsense that homosexuality is a choice and that discussing it will make it a viable option for today's teens. Good Lord.

A shameless plug: Listen to my radio piece on gay rights in one Ontario school.