A lawyer for Liberty Coalition Canada has written an open letter regarding "the duty of non-discrimination to Christians who do not celebrate LGBT Pride."James Kitchen posted the three-page letter on Monday. Excerpts follow."Over the last several years, in a glaring manifestation of hypocrisy, LGBT individuals and organizations, and their supporters, have grown increasingly intolerant of and hostile to Christians who espouse beliefs that are contrary to LGBT values. This has resulted in discrimination against Christians, who have lost their jobs, been kicked out of school and university, been excluded from local governments, and otherwise been penalized and reviled. In the name of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion', Christians have been treated unequally and excluded because of the “diverse” beliefs they have expressed regarding biological sex, sexuality, and sexual morality." "Ironically, LGBT activists now routinely perpetuate upon religious minorities — particularly Christians — the very acts of economic, occupational, educational, and social harm they decry being done to themselves or to racial minorities. In their drive to further entrench their social and cultural hegemony, they have become the intolerant ideological tyrants they claim to oppose.""Like all petty tyrants, most LGBT activists and organizations cannot tolerate any dissent to their ideas and ideals. They perceive any expressed opposition to their values as a personal insult motivated by 'hatred' and 'bigotry', using such hyperbolic rhetoric and appeals to emotion to censor and cancel. In their hubris, they have become incapable of distinguishing between mere disagreement and actual hatred and now blithely identify all traditional Christian doctrine regarding sex and sexual morality as 'hateful'." "Some LGBT individuals, especially those who identify as gender diverse, complain of imagined opposition to their 'existence', while at the same time abusing their cultural and political influence to deny Christians their jobs, businesses, board positions, access to education, right to practice the profession of their choice, access to facilities, and autonomy to live and worship according to their religious beliefs.""No more." "Now, let it be understood, that Christians will defend themselves by all legitimate legal means and assert their rights to be tolerated in the workplace, the boardroom, the classroom, and the public square. To be clear, Christians, unlike many LGBT individuals, are not seeking to be celebrated, have increased cultural or political power, receive special privileges, or have swaths of the calendar dedicated to their recognition. They simply want what they are legally and fairly entitled to: equality, tolerance, and basic respect.""Employers and businesses who discipline, penalize, or deny access to Christians for not being sufficiently “woke” when it comes to LGBT politics will face lawsuits for their discriminatory conduct. The law — as it should —protects the right of Christians to abstain from using pronouns when doing so violates their conscience, to decline hosting 'pride' or 'rainbow' memorabilia in their personal workspaces, to not attend pride events, and to otherwise work, learn, recreate, worship, and express themselves in a manner that does not violate their sincere religious beliefs regarding sexuality and sexual morality. Other service providers such as educational institutions, government regulators, sports associations, social and cultural organizations, and publicly-accessible facilities are under similar obligations."Human rights legislation in each province protects the characteristic of religious beliefs, just as it does sexual orientation and gender identity. Employers and service providers are no less obligated at law to accommodate and tolerate the beliefs of Christians than they are the sexual orientation of gays and the gender identity of trans individuals."Kitchen cited the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Creed Policy which states, "The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that there is no hierarchy of rights, and creed deserves the same consideration, protection and respect as other human rights.""The Commission has further stated, 'It is well-established in law that people protected under the ground of creed are entitled to the same level of protection as people protected under other Code grounds. Arguments that a person can avoid discrimination or intolerance by modifying their behaviours or beliefs and making different choices has been rejected as a justification for discriminatory behaviour.'""As if written in anticipation of the growing intolerance of Christians within the LGBT movement, the Ontario Human Rights Commission has also stated: '[H]ow a society treats religious and creed minorities indicates its tolerance towards difference and diversity in general. Freedom and equality rights based on religion and creed are core elements of a free and democratic society'.... " "This June, let’s treat everybody, including Christians, with the dignity they deserve as human beings. Decency, let alone the law, demands no less."Kitchen is a lawyer for Liberty Coalition Canada.
