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June 17, 2005
Top 10 Mistakes Made by Canadians
(Starting with #5)
...
5. Chose the coldest part of the continent to put their country on.
4. Persist in calling their currency the Canadian dollar, when it should be called the Canadian barely-half-a-dollar.
3. Can't pronounce "about." (No, it's not "aboot.")
2. Took that Marcuse essay Repressive Tolerance way too seriously.
1. Still thought they had the right to free speech.
"Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the Right and toleration of movements from the Left. ...
It should be evident by now that the exercise of civil rights by those who don't have them presupposes the withdrawal of civil rights from those who prevent their exercise..." - Herbert Marcuse
The Canadian thought police are at it again, this time in British Columbia. There, a small-town high school teacher/guidance counsellor had the poor judgement to think that he could freely express his (quite moderate) views outside of the workplace in letters to his local newspaper, the Quesnel Cariboo Observer. Between 1997 and 2000 Dr. Christopher Kempling wrote a number of letters to the paper expressing support for the orthodox Christian view on homosexuality and, according to one conservative BC web site:
...criticizing the Gay and Lesbian Educators of BC (GALE) and their pro-homosexual propaganda within the public schools.
Dr. Kempling is no William Whatcott, and his letters were reasoned and uninflamatory. For example, in a letter cited by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in finding against Dr. Kempling in a previous appeal, he said:
"The majority of religions consider [homosexual] behaviour to be immoral, and many mental health professionals, including myself, believe homosexuality to be the result of abnormal psycho-social influences. … Homosexuality is not something to be applauded."
And:
"Thus my main concern with giving same sex couples legal rights in child custody issues is due to the obvious instability and short term nature of gay relationships … My second concern is how can children develop a concept of normal sexuality, when their prime care-givers have rejected the other gender entirely?"
The local school board was not amused and started proceedings against Dr. Kempling, who wound up being suspended for a month by the British Columbia College of Teachers in 2002. The BCCT, which is responsible for licensing educators in British Columbia, while graciously acknowledging Mr. Kempling's right to his "private views," argued that the expression of these views was itself discriminatory. This view has been supported by each of the courts which has subsequently considered the case.
Most recently, on June 13, 2005 the Court of Appeals upheld Mr. Kempling's suspension. While the court in its opinion explicitly recognized that ..."the BCCT’s attempts to curtail Mr. Kempling’s ability to publish his views about homosexuality must be considered a violation of his right to free expression", it went on to justify this, arguing:
As I have said, the harm in evidence in this case is not that of discriminatory actions directed against particular individuals, but rather is that sustained by the school system as a whole. In his writings, Mr. Kempling made clear that his discriminatory beliefs would inform his actions as a teacher and counsellor. His writings therefore, in themselves, undermine access to a discrimination-free education environment. Evidence that particular students no longer felt welcome within the school system, or that homosexual students refused to go to Mr. Kempling for counselling, is not required to establish that harm has been caused. Mr. Kempling’s statements, even in the absence of any further actions, present an obstacle for homosexual students in accessing a discrimination-free education environment. These statements are therefore inherently harmful, not only because they deny access, but because in doing so they have damaged the integrity of the school system as a whole.
...Through its sanction of Mr. Kempling, the BCCT has made a strong statement to the public that what he did was wrong and that it does not condone discrimination. This statement goes some way to repairing the damage done to the integrity of the school system and tends to remove any obstacles restricting access to a discrimination-free environment.
Essentially, this finding seems to indicate that Christians (or, for that matter, conservatives of any sort) who are anything other than silent on their views regarding homosexuality, gay marriage, etc. simply cannot be teachers in Canada, since any expression of their beliefs causes "damage [to] the integrity of the school system" - damage which can be "repaired" only by punishing the offending teacher.
Mr. Kempling's problems continue. He was recently given another unpaid suspension by the school district, this time for 3 months, due to a letter he wrote to the same newspaper criticizing gay marriage. According to the Observer:
The district said Kempling’s comments in that letter were discriminatory and resulted in a “potential poisoned and unsafe” school environment.
Kempling’s now driving a dump truck to replace his lost income. He says the financial pressure may succeed to temporarily silence his views.
“I have to give that serious consideration because my career is seriously in jeopardy,” said Kempling.
His plight, however, has found support in the Christian community.The Christian Public School Teachers’ Legal Defense Fund is collecting donations for Kempling’s legal costs.
“That support certainly helps, but my religious faith is primarily what keeps me going,” said the teacher.
We wish the best of luck to Mr. Kempling in his fight for free speech and the truth. To support this fight, consider donating to:
Christian Public School Teachers' Legal Defense Fund
c/o Jim Sagert
798 Beaubien Ave
Quesnel, BC V2J 1S5
Notes: Thanks, as always, to LifeSite for this news.
For an article by Dr. Kempling describing his case, as well as the other human rights abuses in Canada, see here.
For an excellent evaluation of a previous court ruling on this case, see Eric Rasmmussen's comments here.
Posted by John at June 17, 2005 08:45 PM
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(Starting with #5):
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Tracked on August 4, 2005 04:23 PM
Comments
fuck you
Posted by: me me at April 11, 2006 11:43 AM