Having referred to gay-straight alliances as the equivalent of student Nazi groups, the Halton Catholic District School Board chairwoman Alice Anne LeMay, in Ontario, now says her statements were taken out of context and she might vote to allow the student groups. Uh huh.
Voting in November to ban GSAs in the school district, the Canadian school board now says it’ll vote again on the issue. But c’mon, it’s not like they wanted to; only because Ontario’s Ministry of Education issued new rules that forces schools to create GSAs if students request them is LeMay & Co. going to permit them.
It was just last week that LeMay was telling Xtra, in defending her vote, that the school district doesn’t “have Nazi groups either. Gay-straight alliances are banned because they are not within the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
So will anything change with the upcoming vote? Hard to tell. LeMay says she’s still unsure whether she’s going to change her mind. That said, new school board members who didn’t take part in November’s election, including an openly gay 22-year-old, will get to have a say this time around.
How about we take this to the next level?
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The requisite Facebook group has popped up, with comments like, “Students should have the right to form whatever groups they so choose within their education system, as long as they are free of hate. I find this ban completely disgusting – not to mention anti-Christian. There is no such thing as a “moral” that excludes and discriminates”; and, “reading the hurtful words that woman said make me sick to my stomache.”
Now watch that above interview with a GSA school advisor who explains the importance of these student groups. You know, to keep kids from killing themselves because of women like Alice Anne LeMay.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
The sad part is that nasty old cunt actually thinks she is a good christian…………….
MACDONALDBANK
SHUT THE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
by
GRANT MACDONALD
Faxed to: Prime Minister Harper; Attorney General Nicholson;
Premier McGuinty; Leona Dombrowsky, Ontario Minister of Education
The evil writings in Leviticus 18:22 … against gays – depict: “P” … “priestly rules” & expanded by the pope; homophobes and religious frauds … to attack the gay community and never meant to apply to the public — but to priests. Leviticus exists in the old testament & torah … & were written long after Moses — 600BC.
How would you like it … if hate speech was directed to your brother or sister as you sat in the pew; spewed by some better than thou religious lunatic with a hateful black book about Leviticus — under his arm?
The pope and churches fully aware that Leviticus 18:22 applies only to priests refuse to remove this stigma maliciously persecuting gays. Kids bullied into suicide …! Being black or left-handed or being gay is just as natural.
If the black community or women had it written that they should be put to death; how would they like that?
Churches are committing hate crimes and more succinctly a violent criminal offence against a federally protected minority namely the gay community. It is actually a bigger moment in history … gays standing up for equality … soldiers being discharged are indeed exposing something far greater … the realization that there is something far more evil at work — hateful religion which should be discharged from society — period.
It’s now time to shut down the churches with bibles with leviticus 18:22. Religion and the churches should now be exposed as a bigoted structure that gets away with hate mongering. It is a criminal offence to cause harm onto others physically or with written items … bibles have been getting away with this for ages. Tony Perkins and his The Family Research Council’s opposition to gay rights have landed the outfit onto a list of “hate groups,” like the KKK. Christian colleges should be classified as hate groups and shut down.
Daez
@MACDONALDBANK: If this is honestly for real, I can totally see the Minister of Education reading it, having a good laugh and filing it where it belongs.
When will gays and lesbians learn that exactly what the fringe lunatic right wants you to do is declare war on the church. If we declare war on the church, they aren’t going to sit back and take it. The church has much more power of a political, financial and traditional stand point than the gays can ever hope to have.
If you seriously forced many of our allies to chose between their church and the gay community, we would lose most of our allies.
This is a ludicrous idea. Religion has existed for 2000+ years because it knows how to maintain control. Instead of trying to declare war on religion, we should find ways to change it.
On a side note, my partner wants to go to Toronto really bad in the next few months. He claims it is one of the most awesome and gay friendly cities he has ever visited. I just can’t see myself going if this is the kind of “openness” that the community presents. In short, this school is giving the whole Toronto community a bad name.
MikeE
@Daez: if you took a minute, you’d also realize that the Halton School district clearly places this story OUTSIDE of Toronto. This is a tiny town, on the fringes of Toronto.
the crustybastard
That’s a shame. Nazis very much approved of Catholic education.
“Secular schools can never be tolerated because such schools have no religious instruction, and a general moral instruction without religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith…”
– Adolf Hitler, 26 April 1933 statement regarding the Nazi-Vatican Concordat
Mike
@Daez: In Canada, it’s at least arguable, if not accurate, that those who are religious ARE the fringe lunatic right. Churches in this country have nowhere near the power and influence that they have in the United States. As MikeE correctly stated, Halton is a small town north-west of Toronto.
MACDONALDBANK
Letter faxed to Pope Benedict XVI; Prime Minister Harper; Attorney General Nicholson; Premier McGuinty; Minister of Education Dombrowsky; Opposition Leader Tim Hudak; Halton Catholic School Board and Hon. Olivia Chow, M.P. Trinity Spadina.
http://www.macdonaldbank.com/religion2012.html
Rowan
@the crustybastard:
I know! Right?
Gays will always be victims unless they use GOOD tactics to fight back.
Jeffree
@Mike:, @MikeE:,
Thanks for helping educate “Daez” on the differences between Canada & the USA.
He’s still not clear on state versus Federal rights here in the US so the idea that Canada has different laws is probably making his head exploooode. Just wait until he hears about Europe 🙂
Kev_Hanson
Fully agree with the point about the relatively weak degree of influence of organized religion on public policy in Canada. But – just for urban/rural context – Halton is not a “tiny town”. It’s a region between Toronto and Hamilton, including the Cities of Oakville and Burlington (combined population >300,000) and various smaller communities. It’s not a central part of a metropolitan area, but we can’t claim this sort of development is restricted to rural backwaters either. And – for that matter – the citizens of Toronto proper didn’t exactly distinguish themselves with the mayor they recently elected. (Google some combination of “Rob Ford” “homophobe” and “AIDS”).
Joe
I live in Ontario and almost everyone who works in the Catholic school boards are okay with and supports gay students. The problem is that the administration has to also appease and keep at bay the bishops, who no matter what nationality, are total douchebags. I have a feeling this Alice person probably agrees with gay rights but is getting shit from her local bishop.
Geoff
@MikeE
A “tiny town” of (at last municipal count) of 196,000 people?
Robert
@Joe:
I don’t know. There’s a clause in Ontario Catholic board teacher contracts that they can be terminated if they don’t abide by Catholic principles. Those can, and have, included things such as pregnancies outside of marriage and being gay. I wouldn’t give her too much credit.
Hue-Man
Not being catholic, I don’t understand how a GSA can be against church teachings. Does the church believe there are no gays? No straights? Are there any actions going on at these GSA meetings that might violate church teaching? If gay students attend class, does this violate church doctrine? (I don’t understand how a GSA meeting is different from any other meeting that is held at school.)
If the catholic overlords were rational, they would actively support GSAs as a way to communicate church doctrine to those directly affected and their friends. Similarly, their campaign against equal civil marriage is wrong-headed. Their objective seems to drive people away; preaching hatred to empty pews may be satisfying but is not successful in the long run.
Justin
No links to the original source Xtra.ca?
Bad gays.
http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Halton_Catholic_School_Board_story_history_and_documents-9660.aspx