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Introduction

Free love was a concept in the sixties that tried to separate the state from marriage. It also included the idea that love and marriage should not be controlled by laws. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau shared the same beliefs that, "the state has no business is in the bedrooms of the nations." The fact of the matter is, the world of today is a completely different place than it was even only fourty years ago. Canada is supposed to be a country of diversity, where people can be anything, but of course always to certain limitations. If Canada is seen around the world as this accepting and diverse place, what image does it send out by not allowing homosexuals and lesbians to marry? Homosexual marriage should be a constitutional right in order for the world and humanity to continue to change and progress for a better quality of life. It was not too long ago that unmarried couples could not live together, interracial couples may not marry, and it was acceptable for a man to beat his wife. ...read more.

Middle

With the discrimination that comes from disregarding homosexuals and the pleads to have the right to marriage also comes outward hatred from other groups of people. In 2004 a General Social Survey in Canada found that approximately 362,000 people over the age of 18 identify themselves as gay or lesbian3. Of 60,000 hate crimes commited in Canada in 1994, sexual orientation was the third largest reason just behind race and religion4. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms also states under article 15 that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability5. Sexual orientation is not included in these groups. Excluding sexual orientation from protection against discrimination leaves a minority group unprotected and open to hate crimes. Perhaps if society began to accept homosexuals as it did with interracial couples, younger generations would grow up with a positive attitude towards them rather than shunning them. ...read more.

Conclusion

Regardless of sex, marriage should be a constitutional right. If a man and a man or a woman and a woman want to marry each other, the marriage should be allowed. When people deny this union between two people, it doing society a diservice. Denying gay marriage like denying interracial marriage sets human rights back and does not allow society to move forward. People will continue to discriminate against other groups and ignorance will never end. Canada is a mosaic society built from different people from diverse backgrounds. If Canada does not accept a persons diversity, where does that leave the country? 1 No Author. Universal Declaration of Human Rights retrieved from http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/udhr_article_7.html (Claiming Human Rights: 2010) 2 No Author. Virginia Code retrieved from http://www2.facinghistory.org/Campus/rm.nsf/61A7F88FF16FBD9585256E8E001178AC/620585E98DFA385D8525707B0008D931?OpenDocument (Facing History Ourselves: 1997-2011) 3 Beauchamp, D. Sexual Orientation and Victimization 2004 retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85f0033m/85f0033m2008016-eng.htm (Stats Canada: 2004) 4 Statistics Canada. Hate Crime in Canada retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-551-x/85-551-x1999000-eng.pdf (Stats Canada: 2001) 5 No Author. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms retrieved from http://www.efc.ca/pages/law/charter/charter.text.html (Electronic Frontier Canada, No date) 6 No Author. Universal Declaration of Human Rights 7 Brown, L. Same Sex Parenting retrieved from http://www.parentscanada.com/relating/articles.aspx?listingid=157 (Parents Canada: 2007) ...read more.

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