According to this Yahoo article there are at least 4- possibly 5 Liberal MP’s seriously considering crossing the floor to take a seat with the Conservative Party. If this keeps up, Stephen Harper won’t have to bring down the government and force Mr. Dithers into calling an election as Harper will become Prime Minister by default. It’s the numbers, baby!
Although I get a certain petty pleasure in having the liberal party’s dirty laundry exposed to the light of day and of all my election options the current Conservative Party has my ‘hold my nose and vote’ vote; I am uneasy with the concept of defections from the Liberal Party. I want the Conservation party to take the path to the right; small government, minimum taxes, a two tier health care system just to name a few, but I can only see the dialogue moving further to the left if the ranks of the Conservative party plumb out with former Liberals.
Frankly, the Conservative Party has disappointed me with many of party’s positions on social issues. I believe that having no law governing the procurement of an abortion is just wrong. Take a stand and lead. We will never return to the days of the back alley despite what the pro-choice supporters would want you to believe. Current birth control methods and ease of availability are far too effective for that but I want a government that promotes personal and not governmental responsibility for all your quality of life choices.
Let’s talk about same sex marriage - everyone can do the big yawn now. There is no turning back the clock though there are many who want too. My first choice is that government gets out of the marriage or domestic partnership business in the first place but as I said – there is no turning back the clock. So where do we go from here? The Conservative Party’s position is like putting a finger in the dyke and hoping you can hold back the wave set to crash over the wall. At best, it buys the marriage is between a man and a women crowd a few years but that’s it. Ultimately, any law passed in parliament by the current Conservative Party position is doomed to failure in a few years time when the issue hits the courts.
But there is human side to this debate that I think opponents of same sex marriage overlook or have a tendency to trivialize and that is lesbians and gays are people with feelings, longings and aspirations just like the rest of us. Marginalizing or shutting them out is not the answer nor do I wish to live in society that draws that kind of a line.
My faith teaches me that there is an intrinsic value to all human life. No one is here without a reason or purpose though I might not fathom all the reasons and all the purposes of each individual. I cannot blindly cast out anyone because of who they love. At the same time, the rights of the religious must be respected. When the courts or the state starts to rule what morality the religious must promote or teach. we march one step closer to enacting thought crimes legislation. Let’s not mince words. There is an intrinsic value to being married from a societal and individual viewpoint. How we define it is of the utmost importance.
My personal viewpoint is that if the government cannot get out of the marriage business than civil unions for all and marriages for the religious (and that does mean if your wiccan priestess blesses your same sex union - your married) and since we are on the topic of marriage its time for the government to stop tax benefits for those who have formed common law unions. Nothing has been so costly than to reward individuals who are so lax that they refuse to make a formal commitment but want all the benefits of marriage without the very real legal obligations. Nothing has done more to undermine the concept of marriage than granting common law union’s de facto marriage status. If I meet one more couple with children who are not married and say that marriage is a big commitment and they aren’t ready for that I will scream and start swatting with my handbag. There is no bigger commitment than having children. If you aren’t ready for a formal union then you are certainly not ready for children - straight or gay.
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