Society 's View Of Homosexuals

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.

Instead of traditional marriage (one man, one woman) being the only form of relationship, modern day Canada is populated by many varied types of families. There are single parents, same-sex couples, and those who are divorced and/or separated. Divorce is legally allowed, as is the marriage of those with the same gender identity. To Ignatieff, all that needs to change is the social relationships surrounding families (i.e. the respect between parents and children, and the idea of the Golden Rule –treat others how you yourself want to be treated). For him, the rights revolution was successful (and has completed its journey) in changing the face of family forever, and the laws that exist as a result are both fair and reflective of the needs of the diverse Canadian population (Ignatieff, 2007,

Equity and respect for others are two of the main values that are instantly presented to the audience. Wong makes it clear that they are two beliefs of hers that are not displayed frequently enough in Parliament, as if same sex couples were in a world where they were treated with a sense of egalitarianism and respect, then gay marriage would be unquestionably legalized. Improvement is also a prominent theme displayed by the author, who utilizes quotes such as ‘marriage equality is both necessary and overdue’ (Wong, 2016) and ‘gay and lesbian Australians can vote, serve in the military, represent our country on the sporting field, teach in our universities, preside as judges, staff our hospitals, and be a member of the federal cabinet. Yet we cannot marry the person we love’. (Wong, 2016) These two quotations are clear demonstrations of the author’s conviction that Australia can be undoubtedly improved with the introduction of new laws that allow citizens of all sexualities to

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.”

“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

In 1967 homosexuality was legalized in Canada by Pierre Trudeau. This was the first step towards creating a better environment for the LGBTQ community. By making homosexuality legal, taking pills and using other methods believed to change a gay person straight is no longer ‘required’. Equally important, In, “1999, Supreme Court of Canada expanded gay spousal rights; also ruled that while Quebec cannot secede unilaterally, Canada must recognize a clear ‘Yes’ vote.” Although this idea was not popular all over Canada, the rights of gay couples were changed to behave like the spousal rights of a hetrosexual couple. As a matter of fact, In 1976, the New Democratic Party(NDP) “became the first political party to support the gay movement”. This is important because it lets those in the LGBTQ community know that there is someone in the government who is on their side and that they are not alone. Over all, there has been small steps bringing our community together in acceptance, including those who were outcasted in the past. Homosexuality is no longer illegal, and more rights are given to the LGBTQ

One can see evidence of these policies through the jailing of gays to the later accepting, legalization, and protection of their rights to sexual activity and marriage. Canada saw homosexuality activity as a criminal offense. Before the government decriminalized homosexuality in 1969, police could charge people with “gross indecency” and even jailed for life if psychiatrists could not cure him/her of his/her sexual orientation. Something that opposite-sex couples do often can get a different type of couple charged and his/her life ruined forever, which is shameful and not fair whatsoever. Canada accepted gay marriage in 2005, when it became legal. Before which it was not a crime but it was not practiced. Many circumvented the laws by reciting marriage banns (A Christian tradition where the partners would recite each other's name and intent of marriage three successive sundays before the wedding) which negated the need for a marriage license. This shows that Canadians are progressive and most weren’t hostile towards same-sex marriage, and took them later as a prideful addition to the law. Canada does not want for people of the LGBTQ community to feel left out or made fun of. In 2012, Ontario put an anti-discrimination law into action protecting the transgender community. Canada does not want hate to come to the

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

Canada has had a long history of multiculturalism, having been the first country to formally declare it a policy in 1971 (Reidel 2009). Like what Pierik (2014) and other scholars have recommended Canada maintains neutrality by remaining committed to individual freedoms and human rights as interpreted by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Reidel 2009). The opposition to legalizing same-sex marriage provides a fascinating example of how Canada’s government manages both neutrality and multiculturalism. Those opposing same-sex marriage made arguments based on cultural and religious beliefs and asked that Canada’s government favor their interpretation (Reidel 2009). They argued that extending the right to marry same same-sex couples would violate their beliefs and lead to a deterioration of society (Reidel 2009). However, in this case, the demands for accommodation made by various religious and cultural groups were

A major victory was won by the LGBT community when the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal on June 26th of 2015 across all of the United States. This ruling effectively states that any state-law restricting marriage to male-female is unconstitutional. This had been a fight since the 1970s when the issues of same-sex marriage first began to gain steam. Over the years, various states have legalised same-sex marriage to certain degrees, however it wasn’t until after 3 decades that the issue was finally acknowledged on a national level. This change furthers the ideology of freedom and equality of the american constitution and will invoke the betterment of

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

Over the course of 2003 and 2004 two cases concerning same sex rights appeared before the Canadian and American supreme courts. The Supreme Court of the United States heard the case of Lawrence et al. v. Texas, which dealt with the constitutionality of sodomy laws prohibiting male on male sodomy. The Canadian Supreme Court also dealt with a case related to same-sex rights, but in a very different setting. The case before the Canadian Supreme Court was Reference re Same-Sex Marriage, a reference case dealing with the constitutionality of a proposed federal law legalizing same-sex marriage. Although both cases ended in what can be considered a “victory” for same-sex rights, they also reveal deep differences between the ways the two countries

Discriminatory action against individuals who identified or were labeled as non-heterosexual began to be brought to light during the twentieth century and is still prevalent today. There are arguments by certain individuals that claim that discrimination of those who identify as non-heterosexual have disappeared. I would argue that such discrimination is still alive and present in our modern society. Very noticeable today with the values of our Vice-President Elect Mike Pence who thinks that homosexuality can be “fixed” through electric shock therapy. Values like this are similar to that held during the twentieth century - which Margot Canaday deeper examines in her book The Straight State: Homosexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth Century America. Canaday’s argument throughout her book is that of homosexuality considered undesirable. Canaday starts off her book by delving into the stripping of citizenship rights from individuals who were labeled as homosexual. A topic Ian Haney Lopez explores in his book White By Law: The Legal Construction of Race: How individuals pertaining to a particular group of racial or ethnic groups were deprived of their citizenship and personhood rights. In this essay, I will explore the concepts introduced by Lopez of law as ideology and law as behavioral control and how those concepts relate to Canaday’s book in the oppression of non-hetersoxual individuals within the realms of immigration, the military, and welfare (Canaday).

​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

The realization of the homosexuality in the modern western world as a cultural, sexual and a social category has been a result of complex power relations that surround sexuality and gender. The acceptance of homosexuality in the society has met its fair share of resistance and skepticism. The view that homosexuality can be in the same league as heterosexual has led it to be viewed as a normal behavioral and moral standard (Gallagher & Baker, 2006). Inasmuch as the skeptics may not want to accept the existence of homosexuality studies show that the habit is rampant today with many gay people coming out in the open. Of interest is the political acceptance of homosexuality with passing gay rights so that it can be recognized by law. This move has given homosexuals the ability to engage in legal entities like marriage (Gallagher & Baker, 2006).