Politics
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Friday March 3, 2000
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PrintONTARIO HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL RULES AGAINST CHRISTIANITY
TODAY'S HEADLINES
TORONTO, Mar 3 (LSN.ca) - In a Feb. 24 decision, made public yesterday, the Ontario Human Rights Commission fined a Christian printer in Toronto $5,000 for refusing a printing job from a homosexual activist organization. The National Post reports today that Heather MacNaughton, the board's sole "judge" ruled that Scott Brockie, the owner of Imaging Excellence Inc., violated Ontario law when he declined to print letterhead, envelopes, and business cards for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives in April, 1996.
Brockie argued that his right to "fundamental freedom of conscience and religion" should be protected, especially since he was not providing an "essential service". "I didn't discriminate against the person. I discriminated against the philosophy, the lifestyle, the cause," he told the Post.
MacNaughton said in her ruling: "Brockie remains free to hold his religious beliefs and to practice them in his home, and in his Christian community. He is free to espouse those beliefs and to educate others as to them. He remains free to try to persuade elected representatives ... that the [Human Rights Code] protections currently granted to the lesbian and gay community, are wrong," wrote Heather MacNaughton.
"What he is not free to do, when he enters the public marketplace and offers services to the public in Ontario, is to practice those beliefs in a manner that discriminates against lesbians and gays by denying them a service available to everyone else."
Brockie told the Post that his company has refused business on one previous occasion when it was approached by a pro-choice organization several years ago. "I'm not prepared to compromise my beliefs for the sake of a printing job," he said. He said he would challenge the ruling in a court of law.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission is headed by homosexual activist Keith Norton who was appointed to the position by the Harris government.
See the National Post at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news.asp?f=000303/222229&s2=national
Back to TopMP RENAMES BILL C-23 - "THE DEATH OF MARRIAGE ACT"
OTTAWA, Mar 3 (LSN.ca) - Yesterday Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, joined the public outcry against the threat to marriage embodied in the Liberal government's Bill C-23. "Bill C-23 is officially known as The Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act, but it should be renamed The Death of Marriage Act," stated Breitkreuz.
Breitkreuz pointed out the irrationality of the bill saying, "In the 1950s, buggery was a criminal offence, now it's a requirement to receive benefits from the federal government. This is a ridiculous rationale for extending government benefits!" Stressing the urgency of public action he said "the erosion of the traditional family and society will take place if the institution of marriage as we know it isn't defended vigorously. It's our children that will be hurt the most if we fail. If the people don't mobilize now, this insidious bill will take us to the bottom of the slippery slope".
In related news both the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops have put their submission to parliament on Bill C-23 on the Internet.
Submission by CCCB http://www.cccb.ca/english/fullpublice.asp?ID=49 by the EFC http://www.efc-canada.com/billc23.htm
NEW YORK JUDGE ORDERS WOMAN STARVED TO DEATH
SYRACUSE, NY, Mar 3 (LSN.ca) - On Wednesday, New York State Supreme Court Justice James Tormey ordered that nutrition and hydration be withheld from Sheila Pouliot, a 42-year-old mentally and physically retarded patient at University Hospital. Doctors testified in court that the judge should order the euthanasia saying that her worsening condition would see her "die by millimeters".
Assistant Attorney General Winthrop Thurlow argued in court against the euthanasia order saying, "I believe withholding of nutrition and hydration represents assisted suicide, which is not permitted under New York law." The Attorney General's office has asked for a stay of the order and is appealing the ruling.
For more see the Syracuse Herald-Journal at:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf?/newsstories/city/20000302_rndie.html
CHURCHES TOLD PRO-MARRIAGE INITIATIVE PROMOTION IS ILLEGAL
LOS ANGELES, CA, Mar 3 (LSN.ca) - A ballot proposition in California in support of traditional marriage cannot be supported legally by churches. WorldNetDaily reports today that several churches on California's central coast have been told by their county tax assessor's office they are breaking the law by displaying pro-Proposition 22 signs on church property.
The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) condemned this ruling, telling churches that "it's time [they] know their rights ... the intimidation has gone too far." PJI President Brad Dacus said, "the Internal Revenue Code states that churches are not forbidden to participate in propositions, provided that less than five percent of their total financial and labor resources go into the process."
To be voted on this Tuesday, Proposition 22, also known as the "Defense of Marriage Act," consists of 14 words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The initiative has received nationwide attention and has already been adopted in 31 states.
For more see WorldNetDaily at:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_fosterj_news/20000303_xnfoj_churches_t.shtm...
LIFESITE NEWSBYTES
Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute has issued their first report on the Beijing +5 final prepcom from the floor of the UN headquarters in New York. http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=47468
A six-month British public consultation on the over-the-counter sale of the morning after abortifacient drug will begin in April http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000140326706927&rtmo=aT59ahhJ&atmo=aT59ahhJ &pg=/et/00/3/3/npill03.html
Priests for Life is reminding Catholic politicians of the words of the United States bishops: "We urge those Catholic officials who choose to depart from Church teaching on the inviolability of human life in their public life to consider the consequences for their own spiritual well being, as well as the scandal they risk by leading others into serious sin. We call on them to reflect on the grave contradiction of assuming public roles and presenting themselves as credible Catholics when their actions on fundamental issues of human life are not in agreement with Church teaching. No public official, especially one claiming to be a faithful and serious Catholic, can responsibly advocate or actively support direct attacks on innocent human life" (Living the Gospel of Life, #32). http://www.priestsforlife.org
Police found a dead fetus in the bathroom of an Alamance County middle school after a 14- year-old student was taken to the hospital for severe hemorrhaging Thursday afternoon. Police were unsure if it was a miscarriage, a murder after birth or an abortion with RU-486. (Pro- Life E-News) http://www.news-record.com/news/local/graham19.htm
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