Equality for All

Equality for All

I have been reading a lot of online articles and blogs this past couple days about California state and the recent ruling by the court on Prop 8. This was a State law that banned gay rights/equality when it came to the same-sex marriage. After reading all of these posts and articles I am happy for the residents of that State. The road to equality is gonna be a long one for them still but this a step in the right direction. I hope that California becomes the next U.S. state that allows full equality for the LGBT community and keeps it!

As a natural born Canadian living in Victoria B.C. I consider myself quite fortunate. In 2005 Canada became the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages with British Columbia the 2nd province of Canada to make it legal on a provincial level. I am proud of my Country and fellow Canadians for making this happen. We not only made it happen but once we made our decision we stuck to it. The only sad part is many people, even here in my home land, still believe we don't deserve the same basic human rights as others. That is our biggest shame.

Our Country was founded with equality for all as part of the Constitution and Charter of Rights & Freedoms. Of course back then LBGT equality wasn't the issue. Over the generations the equality controversies have changed. We can be proud that along the way we have achieved successful equality on many of those concerns. We still have a lot of work to do in this area but we are getting there and we are doing it together as a Country.

As Canadians we are pretty open minded in our attitudes. Give us something that is good for the majority of us and we will go with it. Some times we will even give something to those the deserve it even if it doesn't look great for the majority. We do this because it is the right thing to do. We believe in doing the right thing for all. We have always believed that and I feel we always will.

Our Country is built on diversity; we equally celebrate our minorities both visible and invisible. The LGBT community is mainly seen as an invisible minority. You cannot tell if someone is gay by the color of their hair, eyes, or skin. The country they are from or the language they speak will not tell you. You cannot just look at a stranger and know that the person is gay. That is why it is seen as the invisible minority. We are only visible when we make ourselves seen. Thankfully many individuals and groups in the LGBT community are making themselves visible for the benefit of others. As a gay man I support these people. I do it by being myself, speaking out when necessary, and by being supportive of others. That is the least of what each of us can do!

I used to have a T-shirt that looked from afar to have the Canadian flag on it. When you got closer you could see that they flag was made up of words stating: "I may not be perfect but I am Canadian and that is close enough." I loved that T-shirt. I am not saying we are perfect but as a Canadian I feel we are pretty damn close!

As a country we still have our problems. We are working on them. I hope and pray we are successful with each problem that comes our way. I believe we will be. We as Canadians need to set an example for the world. We are capable of doing just that.

UPDATE: Washington state has passed a marriage equality bill by a vote of 55-43 in the House. The bill now has to go to the Governor to be signed. This whole equality idea is spreading. I like it!