Two huffish press releases over the recent parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage, one from Real Women, and the other from Canadian Family Action Coalition, fail to place responsibility for the lost vote.
If Stephen Harper and the majority of conservatives were as serious about defeating same-sex marriage as they had all along been indicating, well, they could have used the notwithstanding clause and pointed to National Post/COMPASS poll that apparently says 64% of Canadians want a review of current legislation. It didn’t happen. 
So what intrigues me is seeing CFAC and REAL lay blame everywhere except at the soles of Stephen Harper. Their man was at the helm and all he did was call a hollow and pointless vote. You have to think that under the diversionary blame they felt betrayed.
For Harper of course the same-sex cocktail needed a twist of expediency. As in, "How can I assuage these more fundamentalist elements without jeopardizing my "progressive" support and ultimately a chance at re-election.
But for CFAC and REAL this is one battle lost, not the war. As C. Gwendolyn Landolt crumped,
Elitist political leaders apparently believe that Canada is still in the twentieth century, where political parties ignored the opinion of the voting public. However, in todays technologically advanced world, a well-educated public must be allowed to participate in setting government policy, and especially so on the same-sex marriage issue — the most important issue of this generation.
For the rest of us, hopefully, we’ll eventually accept the same-sex marriage legislation as a good thing, as heralding equality and fair-mindedness, and carry on. Even Liberal Joe Comuzzi who quit Paul Martin’s cabinet last year, in order to vote against gay marriage last year, voted against Harper’s motion.
And now, the work of addressing the hidden and unconscious exclusion of any people/group continues, not the least of which, our gay-lesbian neighbours.
Technorati Tags: Canadian Same-sex Vote, C. Gwendolyn Landolt, REAL Women, CFAC (Canadian Family Action Coalition), Stephen Harper, Joe Comuzzi, National Post/COMPASS Poll
