Homosexual Rights: The Evolution and Causes

In 1968 Pierre Trudeau liberalized laws on abortion, homosexuality and public lotteries. Trudeau’s most famous quote came from the legalization of homosexuality and that quote is “there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation”#. Trudeau views people’s lives as personal and their decision to have sexual intercourse, be in a relationship or marry whatever sex they prefer is their own decision and that is why this law is particularly a good one for the gay and lesbian population of Canada. Instead of being punished for liking the same sex they are now able to be with who they want to be with. Pierre Trudeau also brought in the abortion law which allows women to have an abortion granted that they get permission from three doctors who say that the pregnancy will negatively affect them

In 1988 the “American Republican President Ronald Reagan...[Authorized] all four of the court’s major gay rights ruling” (Reuters,2015). This is when America noticed that everyone should be given equal rights regardless of their orientation. Shortly after this proposal gay marriage had become legalized in 12 American states, however, 36 states are still banning gay marriage (Weese,2013).In 2010 American action, President Obama “signed a law allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S military(Reuters,2015).This step occurred in Canada many years ago as well as equality for the all so many smaller actions have been taken to end hate crime. In Canada, Regina Saskatchewan Police Services have created a Report Homophobic Violence, Period (RHVP) training seminar, with hopes to eliminate hate crime towards the LGBTQ community (Hamelin, pg.A.4). This program not only aims to educate the authority system about hate crime towards LGBTQ communities but it also informs the police services of positive stigmas to refer to. Programs similar to the Saskatchewan training seminar should be created so that the severity of hate crime offences towards the LGBTQ are acknowledge. In Canada, “Vancouver reported the highest proportion of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation (26%)” (Dowden, 2012).In 2009“74 per cent of hate crimes …were motivated by sexual orientation, with 63 per cent resulting in injury (Dowden, 2012). In recent hate crime studies a decrease in statistic shows that only “16% of motivated hate crimes…accounted for sexual orientation” (Dowden, 2012). But 65% of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation were violent” (Dowden, 2012). This shows that Canada is in fact taking an initiative to end the discrimination against the LGBTQ community but not taking in counter of the severity in which these cases are causing. In addition to hate crime statistics for the

Any involuntary, unwelcome, and nonconsensual sexual interaction or activity, including touching, kissing, and any type of sexual intercourse would be defined as sexual assault. It is not likely for one to be aware of the law governing sexual assault, until one is placed in a position that requires knowledge of it. (Constance Backhouse, 2016). Rape myths and stereotypes in the Canadian Court system and legislature will be ascertained in the following paper. First, rape myths will be discussed, moreover, it will be shown that regardless of the fluctuations in the Canadian law, sexual assault rates remain high, reporting and conviction rates remain low, and rape myths continue to operate. These rape myths are existing in Canadian universities and in the Canadian Court Houses. Many social constructions that are present in the Ewanchuk case are a result outcome because of the judiciary system and the university system. Furthermore, the rape myth and stereotypes in law and universities can relate to the social constructions of gender, race, masculinity/femininity, and heterosexuality. In this essay the focus will be directed to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Ewanchuk case, [199] 1 S.C.R. 330, and argue how the rape myths then are still present in today’s society despite feminist attempts to amend criminal laws to be more unbiased in resolving conflicts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for decades of state-sponsored laws and policies that led to discrimination and violence that ruined the lives of many Canadians. Trudeau expressed sorrow, shame, and guilt to the civil servants, military members, and criminalized Canadians who were victimized and mistreated based on their sexual orientation. This heartfelt apology shed many tears, in the audience and for Trudeau himself. Trudeau recounted on how the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Canadians were ruined, shamed, and silenced. “Our laws made private and consensual sex between same-sex partners a criminal offence, leading to the unjust arrest, conviction and imprisonment of Canadians”. These laws and policies enforced by the government legitimized and provoked hatred and violence towards the LGBTQ community, and impacted employment, volunteering and even travel. For many decades in the 1900’s, the Canadian government exercised its authority in a cruel and unjust manner, as those who admitted they were gay were fired, discharged or intimidated into resignation; they lost dignity, lost careers, and had their dreams and lives shattered. From this day forward, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encourages Canadians to end discrimination against the LGBTQ community, and promotes equality amongst all.

The nation of Canada has strived to be recognized as a long-standing picture of equal democratic rights and freedoms for all. Although mistakes and occasional aberrations do occur, we must always endeavour to be a nation that promotes equality and shuns discrimination, even if it means changing our laws in the process. Equality for all is a constitutionally entrenched law and we as citizens, lawmakers, and judges must uphold the constitution and ensure our nation evolves to demonstrate, in practice, the intent of words outlined in the constitution. In Vriend v. Alberta, the appellant Delwin Vriend was working as a laboratory coordinator in Alberta when he was terminated after revealing his sexual orientation (Vriend v. Alberta, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 493 2). It was well known that Vriend received positive reviews on his work and throughout the course of his employment he enjoyed the benefits of his hard work (Vriend v. Alberta 11). However, this all changed when Vriend shared with his employers that he was homosexual. Due to the fact Vriend refused to comply with the request to leave his position because his homosexuality offended the views of his employer, he was unceremoniously terminated solely on these grounds (Vriend v. Alberta 2). Vriend was understandably upset with this decision and moved to file a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission (Vriend v. Alberta 2). Vriend was informed due to the fact sexual orientation was not included as a prohibited grounds for

When it comes to the gay rights movement, the structure and the history of how it got to where it is today is a huge factor in today’s society. There have been a lot of things that negatively influenced gay rights. In some ways, things have happened in a positive way as well. The gay rights movement today and legalizing gay marriage has struck some people the wrong way because of their beliefs. For the gay community, though, it has been a very positive thing. Some of the big key moments in history went the way they did because of important events and important people causing it to go that way. These include Jeremy Bentham, Magnus Hirschfield, Henry Gerber, the making of the Mattachine Society, Stonewall Riots, Clela Rorex, the Ryan White

While Pierre was Justice Minister under Pearson he had reformed the criminal codes of Canada -Abortion, Divorce laws, Homosexuality. Quoting Trudeau himself he said “The state had no business in the bedrooms of others.”

Canada’s laws are presented to be unbiased and non-discriminatory. The law promises every individual the right to life, freedom of expression, well-being and uses sparkly language to prove that no one is above the law despite sexual orientation (Canadian Human Rights Act, 1985). However, this is not the case in regards to homosexual individuals. This paper will discuss how homosexual suffer from discriminatory laws in their everyday lives. The discriminatory laws further lead to myths, ideologies and labels that are imposed on homosexuals (Fedders, pgs.787-789, 2006). Also, in this piece of writing two cases will be introduced to further prove how the law can be discriminatory even though it appears to be sparkly with persuasive language

“Since August 26th, 1969, homosexuality was decriminalized in Canada.” This great choice was made by Canada’s current Prime Minister in 1969, Pierre Trudeau because it was time for a change. This was part of the first major changes of Canada’s Criminal Code. Being criminalized against your sexuality would go against Canada’s current Human Rights. This was the first major step of change for LGBT rights but there was still more to come. Even after decriminalizing homosexuality, there was still a lot of hate crimes against people whose sexual orientation was something other than heterosexual. Canada’s government decided to take effect about this matter and “on June 20th, 1996, Canada’s Criminal Code provided stricter penalties for crimes motivated by hate based on certain personal characteristics, including sexual orientation.” At this certain time Jean Chrétien was running Canada as Prime Minister and therefore decided to make this decision. Hate crimes against LGBT people was severe at this time so Chrétien thought to make it a law. Human Rights was created for equality, dignity and respect and discriminating someone

This essay will examine Canada’s Human Rights record since 1914 through the reactions of the Canadian government and Canadian peoples. From the example of the government reaction to the LGBTQ community through 1910 to today, one can see Canada’s human rights record through domestic policies that both excluded and later included those of differing sexualities. From the example of the Canadian people’s attitude to the LGBTQ community through 1910 to today, one can see Canada’s human rights record through social attitudes that both excluded and later included those of differing sexualities. From the example of employer’s reaction to the LGBTQ community through 1910 to today, one can see the economic impact of Canada’s human rights record

As time has progressed, Canadian society has adapted an increasingly liberal attitude towards controversial subjects. Such changes have thereby prompted an evident surge of positive perceptual changes within the nation. Various prominent social advancements in Canadian history consist of the recognition of coloured individuals, multiple movements for gender equality and the acknowledgement of the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population, also known as the LGBT community. Throughout history, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals have been heavily discriminated against based upon their sexual preferences. Many individuals perceive homosexuality to be abnormal and immoral due to the fact that it violates the

Invention is the greatest idea of our time. Whether it is medical, scientific, social, or mechanical, a new invention of the day seems to be part of our everyday lives. Homosexuality is really no different. It may not be your everyday invention, but it clearly is and people throughout time to try and identify the first “known homosexual” in time. Some people wanted this new idea of homosexuality to just go away, but as time has gone on, it will not be going away anytime soon. It is getting to be more prominent in society and this paper takes the stand that in Canada especially, homosexuality is not seen by society overall as something different. Of course it is still not

In 2001, a gang of homophobic people in Stanley Park, Vancouver beat a man named Aaron Webster to death using baseball bats. They killed him simply because he was gay. This is just one example of how hard life was for many LGBT people in Canada in the past. Some of the reasons for these difficulties were because those who were gay were discriminated against, simply because they did not fit society’s criteria of “normal”. Also, it was illegal to get married to someone of the same sex, until 2005. Lastly, those who were gay had unequal rights, compared to others. The changes in laws since 1969, to a large degree affected the LGBT community of Canada, with the guarantees of equal rights to all without discrimination, and the passing of the civil

​Canada is often seen as a leader in the gay rights movement and it has a long history of providing rights to those that identify as homosexual (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2016; Cotler, 2015). As far back as 1969, Prime Minister Trudeau passed Bill C-150 which amended the Criminal Code to decriminalize “gross indecency” and “buggery”; if committed between two consenting adults if they are over 21 (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2016). The Code was further amended to drop the age of consent for anal sex from 18 and 14 for other sexual activity and it was recognized that a higher age for consent of anal sex was unconstitutional (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2016). Since then there have been many changes to the political and social system in Canada to be able to improve the rights not only individuals whom are part of the LGBTQ community, but also for those whom are in same sex relationships (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2016). As of 2005, same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada; however, there is still debate of whether or not same-sex legalization has legitimized same-sex partnerships within society (Colter, 2015). Many cases that have come before the court regarding homosexuality and same-sex marriages have argued that the actions of society are a direct violation of people’s s.15 rights in the Constitution; which allows for every person to be treated equally and bear the freedom of religion (Supreme Court Judgements, 2004). It will be argued that Canada has created equal rights for

In Journal of Human Rights published in 2014, after the Equalities Act of 2010 enacted, the United Kingdom sees sexuality and gender identities as “protected characteristics,” with legal imperatives to address discrimination, and in Canada in the early 1990s, there were an opposition against gays and lesbian rights, but after sexual orientation recognized in 1995, gradually by 2013, gays and lesbians have equality rights. (Browne, 2014)