unrepentant old hippie

These people are fucking nuts

I'd resolved to have more patience with social conservatives in the new year. One resolution down, 9 to go.

The christian soldiers are marching again with their wimping and whining about gay marriage. The vote in November should have sent them a clear message: most Canadians are just fine with the idea that the marriage tent is big enough to include gays. You'd think the so-cons would try and muster up some of that christian love and charity we hear so much about and welcome more couples into the institution, but noooooooo.

An "informal coalition" of so-cons wants Harper to order a royal commission on "marriage and families". This is, of course, a backhanded way of getting the same-sex marriage issue back on the table and up for debate yet again. The 3 groups in the coalition are Focus on the Family, Institute for Canadian Values and the Canada Family Action Coalition, all vehement opponents of same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia and probably anything else that's none of their goddamn business.

Joseph Ben-Ami, founder of the Institute for CVs said that the Conservatives can't take the so-con vote for granted in the next election. Their cozy relationship was damaged after the marriage vote, an election promise that was clearly engineered to fail. But:

"Dave Quist, executive-director of Focus Canada's Ottawa research branch, is more cautious -- Focus is a registered charity forbidden from engaging in partisan politics. But he said a royal commission would give Canadians time to understand the implications of government measures affecting families. 'Gay marriage may come up as a part of that but I don't see that as the main thrust,' Quist said. 'Same-sex marriage is one piece of a big puzzle of the institution of family'." and bullshit bullshit bullshit.

When social conservatism ultimately fades from the political arena, it may not be because only a small minority of Canadians agree with their idiotic ideas. What does them in may well be the non-partisan "charitable" status their groups maintain while trying to stick their noses into so many areas of government. Something to think about.

(h/t slap upside the head)