SSM = Polygamy now?

OTTAWA, VANCOUVER — Same-sex marriage (SSM), they said, would be the slippery slope to polygamy.

Just a few short years after Canadians engaged in a caustic debate over whether two men, or two women, should be allowed to marry, the prognosticators will find out if they are vindicated - however unhappily.

The lawyer for Winston Blackmore (pictured), the man with 19 wives in the B.C. religious community of Bountiful who is to appear in court today on polygamy charges, says he will cite Canada's gay-marriage laws as part of his defence.

It's an argument that people on both sides of the same-sex marriage fight were expecting: If same-sex marriage is justified under Charter rights to equality, then polygamy is justified under the Charter's protection of religious freedom.

Find the rest here

Some scholars feel that this will not fly as a defence. I'm not so sure. The Charter has been used effectively to allow SSM on the basis of equality. It will be interesting to say the least. The challenging part of this defence for Canada (if it succeeds) is that it will probably embolden Muslims who want to invoke Sharia law (multiple wives, easy divorce, minimize women's rights, etc.). They might then be able to do it under the protection of religious expression. Canada was founded upon and open to various people fleeing religious persecution - Mennonites, Duokobours, Huguenots, etc. Are we willing to now accept Mormon or Muslim law as equal with civil law in Canada?

"If my people..." God help us.

REGULATION OVERLOAD

Is it just me, or does it seem like the various levels of government are regulating life more and more? Comox was debating whether or not to ban clotheslines because of 'visual pollution'. Some staff were suggesting even banning automatic clothes dryers because they 'pollute too much'. You can read about those here. Courtenay is preparing to spend $17 million for water metering because we apparently use too much water. Courtenay is set to ban every backyard fire on the grounds that it pollutes your neighbour's air. What's next? Banning the BBQ because the smell goes into my neighbours airspace? The carbon tax is coming into effect to tax us into greenness (allegedly). The money will be going into general revenue, so it is unlikely that there will be much change. There's a provincial law coming into effect that says you will need to have a car seat for your child up to age 9! (subject to weight and height issues). BC is also preparing to ban smoking in a car if you have a child in it. Will they soon be regulating whether or not you can feed your children at McDonalds because the fat and grease make them susceptible to heart disease?

More and more the state is creeping into the private affairs of citizens, all under the guise that 'they know better.'

Now many of these issues need to be addressed. However, instead of bringing out the stick of regulation all the time, perhaps they could invest in education and positive incentives to encourage change OR here's a radical thought - stay out of people's private personal lives? I have thoughts on many of these political issues and will be talking about them over the next while.