To the Editor:
Bill C-6 has thankfully passed in the House of Commons and now moves to the Senate. This bill seeks to amend the criminal code with five proposals addressing conversion therapy, a misguided, demeaning and harmful form of treatment endorsed by those who simply cannot accept that LGBTQ members are not an aberration of the norm, but simply a manifestation of the wondrous variety that abounds in nature.
We should note that Ben Lobb, MP for Huron-Bruce, voted against Bill C-6, something I fail to comprehend. You disappoint, Mr. Lobb. Your failure to support the LGBTQ community is a slap in the face to its members and they have every right to question your motives. Perhaps this was just a partisan stand to reject all things Liberal, and does not reflect your values. If that’s the case, this is too serious an issue to allow obstructionist measures to interfere with proposals which have merit.
PRIDE would not need to exist if it was not an oppressed group. How many children have been shamed, rejected, abused and traumatized for being who they are? How many have had their very essence challenged when all they want is to freely BE? When will we get off our high horses and stop judging and classifying those who are different, whether because of ethnicity, race, religion or sexual orientation? The enormous amount of injury that has been perpetrated on the LGBTQ community is incalculable. The number of those who have considered or committed suicide is appalling, when even one is too many. It is shameful.
I am tired of the same old conservative views that preach righteousness and goodwill yet are quick to condemn and slow to make amends where they are needed. We have no right to pass judgement on others, tolerance is still a form of underlying scorn, acceptance is sorely needed, and above all, respect is what we all deserve.
So many wrongs have been committed in the past, wrongs for which we collectively bear responsibility as a nation. Supporting effective change, particularly within the legal system, is a step in the right direction when addressing injustice. Bill C-6 takes that first step.
Marcy Bézaire
