XPost: can.politics, ab.politics, bc.politics   
   XPost: ont.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   Great to see.  First his backbenchers in the House.  Now voters in his   
   party.   
      
   Senate scandals, voting scandals, spending scandals, economy slide ....   
   Now the 'REAL women' and the Conservative party homophobes are unhappy.   
   Life is good.   
      
      
   I hate the word homophobia. It's not a phobia. You are not scared. You   
   are an asshole.   ~ Morgan Freeman   
   _________________________________________   
      
   Canadian Politics - Postmedia News | 13/08/10   
      
   Canadian conservatives divided over Harper government’s defence of gay   
   rights   
      
   Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says he refuses to “get into a war   
   of words” about whether the Conservatives will lose support over their   
   stance on gay rights.   
      
      
      
   OTTAWA — The Conservative government’s defence of gay rights abroad   
   appears to have sharply divided Canadian conservatives.   
      
   Some say it’s a natural fit for a government that has made the promotion   
   of human rights on the world stage a priority, and aligns with the   
   priorities and values of Conservatives and non-Conservatives alike.   
      
   “It’s just the right thing to do, to stand up for the rights of the   
   individual no matter what country they live in,” said Stephen Taylor,   
   director of the conservative National Citizens Coalition.   
      
   But others have warned it will cost Prime Minister Stephen Harper   
   support from within his own party.   
      
   “I’ve already seen some feedback from some of the conservative, the real   
   conservative base,” said Brian Rushfeldt, president of the right-wing   
   advocacy group Canada Family Action. “I think the potential of Harper   
   and the Conservatives losing some support is very real.”   
      
   Even Conservative MPs are divided over the issue, which on the surface   
   appears to be an outlier among many other foreign policy positions the   
   Tories have adopted since coming to power.   
      
   “We’ve got much more important things to be doing in terms of a foreign   
   affairs agenda along the lines of trade and health issues and various   
   other issues that we can help these countries in,” said Conservative   
   backbencher Maurice Vellacott.   
      
   “So I don’t think we have to be promoting that in other countries. We   
   have far too much and far more important things to be doing.”   
      
   Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird refused to say Friday whether he was   
   worried Conservative members and supporters will turn against the   
   government over the issue.   
      
   “I’ll leave others to those determinations,” he told reporters by phone   
   from Brazil where he was wrapping up a two-week tour of Latin America.   
   “I’m not going to get into a war of words on that.”   
      
   But his office has extended an invitation to a conservative women’s   
   group that launched a scathing attack on the minister earlier this week   
   to meet and discuss the government’s position, indicating concern the   
   issue could become a problem if allowed to fester.   
      
   Under the Conservative government, Canada has been quietly, and   
   sometimes not so quietly, working to decriminalize homosexuality and   
   stop anti-gay legislation from being passed in other countries.   
      
   Harper and Baird have both publicly criticized Ugandan officials as they   
   moved to impose stricter restrictions on gay relationships and   
   activities in the African nation.   
      
   Canada has also contributed about $200,000 to local groups to help fight   
   the law, which has been revised to remove capital punishment for some   
   offences but maintains harsh prison sentences and remains in the Ugandan   
   parliament’s legislative queue.   
      
   The prime minister and Baird have also spoken against a new Russian law   
   that bans anyone from providing information about homosexuality to   
   people under 18 years of age, and said Canadian diplomats in Moscow had   
   been working behind the scenes to scuttle the legislation.   
      
   Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has also made a point of highlighting   
   Canada’s acceptance of dozens of gay refugees from Iran since taking up   
   the issue in 2009.   
      
   The government says it is simply part of its commitment to standing up   
   for basic human rights around the world, with Baird saying in September:   
   “I firmly believe it is the role of the state to protect its people   
   regardless of gender, sexuality or faith.”   
      
   Taylor said there is a big difference between government intervening to   
   advance gay culture, and protecting individuals from being persecuted   
   because of their sexuality.   
      
   “So instead of a government subsidy of cultural festivals, Canada stands   
   for a strong and principled foreign policy that defends the right of the   
   individual,” he said.   
      
      
   Gwendolyn Landolt, national vice-president of the conservative group   
   REAL Women, which attacked Baird on the issue earlier this week, said   
   the Harper government would take some lumps on the issue with the   
   party’s base.   
      
   “Mr. Harper represents the Conservative Party,” she said. “And there are   
   many in the Conservative Party who would support him. I don’t say   
   otherwise. But there are many of us who don’t on this issue.”   
      
   She and Rushfeldt attacked the government for publicly scolding Russia   
   and Uganda, and for using taxpayer dollars and government resources to   
   try to stop anti-gay legislation from passing.   
      
   Both said those efforts are different from standing up to the threat   
   posed by Iran or efforts to protect religious minorities and women’s   
   rights in countries such as Pakistan and Egypt.   
      
   “Eradicating Israel, we’d all object,” Landolt said in reference to   
   Iranian threats against the Jewish state. “Minority rights being   
   protected, we all think they should. The question of genital mutilation,   
   we all find that offensive. The question of women having equal rights,   
   we all would agree.   
      
   “But it is not, and I repeat not, a Canadian value that homosexuals   
   should usurp religious rights and traditional values.”   
      
   Human rights groups say millions of people around the world,   
   particularly in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, are   
   persecuted or face penalties, imprisonment or death for their sexual   
   orientation.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)