Seven years ago, the Tori were agast same sex marriage. Now, the Harper Conservativ eely ph gay rights abroad and even host an annual gatherg of gay Tori" name="scriptn
Contents:
- WARRRS FOR GAY RIGHTS: THE CONSERVATIV HAVE BEE UNLIKELY LGBT SUPPORTERS
- GAY POLICIANS E OUT OF THE CLOSET AND TO THE BET
- CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR
- MORE WOMEN AND OPENLY GAY LEARS CANADIAN POLICS: ARE BARRIERS G DOWN?
WARRRS FOR GAY RIGHTS: THE CONSERVATIV HAVE BEE UNLIKELY LGBT SUPPORTERS
* gay canadian politicians *
Smherman is the first openly gay Member of Provcial Parliament (MPP) elected Ontar, and the provce's first openly gay bet mister. The weddg marked the first time that a feral polician married his same-sex Toronto mayoral ndidate Gee Smherman kissed his spoe, Christopher Peloso, before a bank of meras this week, he announced his mpaign wh a public display of affectn normally rerved for heterosexual ndidat and their gture may have appeared sual, but signalled two thgs to Canadians: that same-sex marriage is beg an acceptable part of the untry's social and polil geography and that beg openly gay is no longer a liabily for policians. Smherman will be gettg a whole lot more visibily durg the next year as he seeks to bee the first gay mayor of Canada's largt cy.
GAY POLICIANS E OUT OF THE CLOSET AND TO THE BET
Is beg gay a polil non-issue now? * gay canadian politicians *
And he may not be the only ndidate reachg for that goal: He will probably be challenged by another openly gay polician, Glen Murray. The two-term former mayor of Wnipeg has not yet formally announced his ndidacy, but he has acknowledged that he is nsirg jog the opponent, turn, will almost certaly be bsman and rad host John Tory, a socially progrsive nservative who once lost a hard-fought provcial ridg race to another openly gay ndidate, Kathleen a one-time health mister, Mr. But are Canadians outsi large urban centr - pecially those small towns or ral areas - prepared to elect openly gay policians to top learship rol, such as premier or prime mister?
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR
A Southern California school board on Friday adopted a social studi curriculum that clus gay rights that was approved by parents and teachers after ially rejectg . * gay canadian politicians *
"There are groups whose cultural differenc are more ntroversial than beg gay.
"A 2007 Environics survey found that 75 per cent of Canadians agree or strongly agree that gays and lbians should be permted to n for public office, the hight approval level of all untri the Wtern Hemisphere. (In the Caribbean and Central Ameri, up to 89 per cent of those polled felt that gay ndidat should not be allowed to stand for electn. Raysi says there is ltle Canadian public opn rearch on how voters perceive gay policians.
Last year's electn of Barack Obama ially looked like a new chapter Amerin race relatns, but the outpourg of hatred toward the first Ain-Amerin Print over the past summer suggts that old prejudic n and do lger jt beneath the have long been - and still are - gay policians who have not e out of the proverbial closet to their nstuents for fear of losg future first wave of openly gay policians - csars such as former Burnaby MP Svend Robson and long-time Edmonton cy uncillor Michael Phair - foced their energi on equy-foced issu such as affordable hog, police nduct and employment-equy recent years, they have been succeed by a younger generatn for whom sexual orientatn is cintal to a range of other polil objectiv. As Nova Stia Liberal MP Stt Brison has put , he is not a gay polician but rather a polician who happens to be Murray, Canada's first gay mayor, was elected a heavily suburban cy and voted much of his time office to reformg Wnipeg's tax base and addrsg environmental issu. "After a uple of terms, 's the muny I'm clost to, " he Smherman's polil reer dat to a 1995 ntroversy over same-sex benefs, and he was later elected a ridg wh a large gay populatn.
MORE WOMEN AND OPENLY GAY LEARS CANADIAN POLICS: ARE BARRIERS G DOWN?
He have bee Canada's first openly gay premier, enjoyg a public profile that others - such the late New Bnswick premier Richard Hatfield, who remaed the closet durg his long polil reer - never attaed? "Still, there are subtle but signifint differenc between servg as an openly gay MP, MPP or cy uncillor, and holdg a proment polil learship most people take them for granted, the habs of high public office are steeped the symbols of heterosexual marriage.
Raysi the Canadian media rema discreet about the personal liv of policians, there's no doubt that some spo, such as Prime Mister Stephen Harper's wife, Lreen, do mand the public's attentn; rmatn or imag about the liv of lears' fai regularly fd their way to the same-sex marriage now monplace, some gay policians - such as Mr. But even today, high-profile gay policians would probably be judged much more harshly if they took a siar approach to their romantic Mr.