Prance on the Pier shook Shipbuilders’ Square this week as revellers danced and celebrated lives that were criminal less than 50 years ago.
But as we applauded the Vancouver Pride Society’s first foray into North Vancouver, we were struck both by how far Canada’s LGBTQ community has come – and how far they have to go.
Trinity Western University says it plans to welcome students from all walks of life to its proposed law school. However, TWU’s community covenant – which reserves sex for marriage and marriage for heterosexuals – ensures some students will feel more welcome than others.
The university largely champions qualities of kindness and inclusiveness; which is why their insistence on preserving a myopic, homophobic policy is so galling.
It`s true TWU’s law school would be small and that law students have other options, but by accrediting the school we sanction prejudice while using religious freedom to downgrade an entire community.
Supporters of TWU suggest the Christian minority is being repressed by a new majority.
It’s difficult to find merit in this argument as no one is proposing a restriction on prayer or a repression of faith. A university is not a church. A law school, in particular, should be expected to uphold the right not to be discriminated against.
The Supreme Court of Canada is set to hear the case later this year, but we hope a different sort of resolution can be reached.
There is common ground between TWU and the LGBTQ community. They both seek understanding and celebrate love. They both seek justice, but only one community is seeking justice for all.
