By Terry Vanderheyden
RED DEER, Alberta, November 3, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Alberta pastor facing an Alberta Human Rights Commission hearing for publishing a letter to the editor that criticized homosexuality is finding support from an unlikely place – Canada’s foremost homosexual advocacy group, Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (Egale).
Although Egale said it opposes Pastor Stephen Boissoin’s opinions, even they favour that the complaint filed by University of Calgary assistant professor Darren Lund be dropped out of respect for the right to free speech. “Egale supports Professor Lund in working to make schools safe for all children but respectfully opposes his human rights complaint,” said Gilles Marchildon, Executive Director of Egale, based in Ottawa.
Lund made his complaint after Boissoin published a letter to the editor in the Red Deer Advocate, in which he denounced homosexuality as immoral and dangerous, and called into question new gay-rights curricula permeating the province’s educational system. In that letter to the editor, Boisson lamented that “Children as young as five and six years of age are being subjected to psychologically and physiologically damaging pro-homosexual literature and guidance in the public school system; all under the fraudulent guise of equal rights.”
Laurie Arron, Director of Advocacy for Egale added that “Pastor Boissoin’s letter is over the top, but it is about a political issue, in that it expresses opposition to making schools safe for LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] children and children of LGBT parents.”
Lund told LifeSiteNews.com today that “there are differing opinions on these complex issues.” He said that he does not personally represent any public interest or advocacy group, but “on this matter, we’re obviously on different sides of the fence.”
Lund added that the issue for him is “what is the limit of free speech in our society? The issue is when speech incites people to act in a way that might be harmful to others, so I think there needs to be a clear line.”
Rev. Boissoin informed LifeSiteNews.com that on December 12 -16, he will appear before the human rights tribunal where they will determine his guilt or innocence. “In doing so, they will set a precedent for or against Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech……for or against you, a Bible believing Christian,” he said. If he is found guilty, he can be forced to pay homosexual groups thousands of dollars in fines and if he refuses to pay them, he can be incarcerated.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Alberta Christian Pastor Hauled Before Human Rights Tribunal For Letter to Editor on Homosexuality
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05090204.html
Growing Support for Alberta Pastor Facing Human Rights Hearing Over Letters Against Homosexuality
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05091407.html