Orville Nichols Loses His Appeal
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article that expressed support for the Saskatchewan Party’s apparent decision to seek legislation giving marriage commissioners the right to refuse to marry same-sex couples. Today, the marriage commissioner who touched off the controversy lost his appeal of a human rights ruling.
This might surprise you, but I support that particular ruling. While I support legislation giving people the right to refuse to perform any ceremony on religious grounds, I also know that, at the time of the offense, laws were written in such a way that Nichols had to have been guilty of discrimination. Interpretations suggested that freedom of religion was not reasonable grounds to discriminate against another.But don’t get me wrong here – I still support the Saskatchewan Party’s proposed legislation. Whenever I think of that legislation, I come back to two things. First, the marriage commissioners who perform same-sex marriages will get more business. Marriage commissioners get paid $50 per ceremony, so the ones who perform more marriages will make more money. Therefore, under the proposed new legislation, tolerance would become a competitive advantage. Second, as long as there are open-minded marriage commissioners available, a gay/lesbian couple would only have to make another phone call. Marriage commissioners who interpret the bible as Mr. Nichols does would be forced to find another god.
Who is harmed the most?
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About Greg: Greg Hluska is an early 30s Regina guy. By day, he works in User Experience in a technology company and by night, he is an avid reader/writer who helps publish the Regina Streets Magazine. |
