Editor:
As a gay married Christian minister for nine years on the Sunshine Coast, I was disheartened to read David Rogers’ letter last week (“Water before rainbows”) playing the civil rights of one identifiable minority group against the rights of others (in his case, unborn fetuses) and other pressing issues of our community, namely water. I am grateful that our country has a democratic process to establish the rights of people which otherwise are ignored or violated.
As a Canadian, I am proud to uphold all of these rights so that none may grow up being bullied and ostracized because of who they are or what they are questioning, be it one’s sexuality, skin colour, disabilities, creed, or cultural heritage. As a Christian, I am proud that the Judeo-Christian tradition was founded on opening its adherents’ eyes and hearts to the plights of the voiceless, the prejudiced, and the marginalized. Jesus taught his followers to recognize the dignity and sacredness among the faces of all, especially among the excluded.
At St. Hilda’s, we recently screened the 2014 British film PRIDE, which tells the story of some young gay activists helping coal miners in Wales during their lengthy strike in the summer of 1984. These unlikely allies formed deep solidarity, broke down prejudices, and resulted in the Labour Party incorporating rights for gays and lesbians following the ending of the longest, bitterest strike in history. My point: let’s play one against the other no more. Rights are rights and they are all worthy to be upheld.
And if we stop dividing ourselves, we may even have time to work on the water issue.
The Rev. Clarence Li, Davis Bay
