Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Sorry we don’t let queers on this bus


Excuse me is this the Lutheran license bureau.

Read the sign buddy, this is a Mormon McDonalds, you’ll have to go to the wandering Jews Wendy’s across the street.

Shit, now my Muslim mailman won’t deliver my Christmas cards.

Sound a bit bigoted?

Well apparently not to Orville Nichols, a government certified marriage commissioner in Saskatchewan. who refused to perform a same sex marriage back in 2005.

A Saskatchewan human rights tribunal cited him for discrimination last May and he was fined $2,500.

Well now Orville is suing the province, claiming that his rights have been violated under the charter of rights.
Orville and his lawyer believe that marriage commissioners should have the legal right to not perform same-sex marriages if it conflicts with their religious beliefs. 
His case will be heard on December 23rd.
However so far Saskatchewan seems to sort of have its act together...
Justice Minister Don Morgan said the tribunal's ruling is binding on the province

Commissioners that are unhappy about the law have the option of turning in their licences to perform civil marriages. 
We have sent a letter to all of the civil marriage commissioners indicating to them that it is an option to them to surrender their civil marriage certificate and to obtain a religious one if they wish to affiliate themselves with one of the churches. Morgan said.
Well there you go Orville, you’re a devout Baptist, so give up the provincially certified, secular,  civil marriage job and align yourself with a church.

Then you can legally allow your personal prejudices, biblical bigotry and silly superstitions, influence how you are going to perform the duties of your job.

But that’s not really the point of this suit, is it.



Reference: CNEWS here .

3 comments:

Cliff said...

Specifically this is about someone who is licensed by the state to perform his role.

The same rule should apply to pharmacists; if you don't wish to fill prescriptions for any kind of legal pharmaceutical family planning aids from condoms to the morning after pill, then you should lose your license to be a pharmacist. If you aren't prepared to perform legal marriages - and there are still people out their who think mixed religion or mixed race marriages are as 'sinful' as gay marriage - then you should lose your marriage commissioner license.

Beijing York said...

I agree with both of you.

If for some reason a civil marriage commissioner or pharmacist who happened to be a fundamentalist Muslim tried to pull that off, I doubt a lawyer in the land would take their cases.

Rev.Paperboy said...

What if I were a policeman who was a committed Mennonite and therefore believed in nonviolence and refused to carry weapons or use physical force to subdue a suspect who was resisting arrest? Or a nurse who, as a jehovah's witness, refused to insert IV's for blood transfusions?

I'm with the salesman --If you don't want to do your job and perform civil weddings for anyone and everyone the government deems eligble, don't bother quitting, YOU'RE FIRED.
If you insist on practicing bigotry and you still want to be a wedding celebrant, go become a Baptist preacher and perform religious weddings for those you and your church deem appropriate.

I guess Mound was right

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