Realwomen of BC - Archives - February2006 - The Human Rights Tribunal

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THE REAL NEWS The R.E.A.L WOMEN of BC Newsletter February 2006, P.O. Box 39068, Point Grey RPO, Vancouver, BC V6R 4P1, Tel/Fax: 604- 463-1611, website: http://www.realwomen.bc.ca
The Human Rights Tribunal On December 7, 2005, the Human Rights Tribunal in BC awarded two homosexual women, Tracey Smith and Deborah Chymyshyn, $1,000 each even though the Tribunal's decision upheld the right of the defendant, Knights of Columbus, to refuse to book the Knight's hall for a same-sex "marriage" (SSM). The Tribunal's decision noted that both homosexual women "knew the Catholic Church's view on SSM" and yet the women said, "Had they known who the Knights were, they would not have rented the hall." Interestingly, the homosexuals claimed that they were completely unaware that the hall was affiliated with the Catholic Church. This claim is difficult to accept as the hall is on Church property, has the same colour and style of construction as the church building, and is decorated with the official crest of the Knights of Columbus, a picture of the Pope, a crucifix, and a picture of the Virgin Mary in the front entry hall. However, the women did know, because one of them was a co-worker of the young man whose volunteer duty with the Knights was to manage the hall. This homosexual woman, along with other openly gay co-workers at the Costco warehouse in Port Coquitlam were very well aware of his involvement with the Catholic men's organization and his connection with the hall and that church prior to the women's controversial visit two years ago. Even more significantly, the man whose duty it was to manage the hall has since been fired from that Costco location which is staffed and managed by a contingent of homosexual men and women and their supporters. Will his situation ever be looked into by the Human Rights Tribunal in BC? Not likely, considering that the Tribunal recently refused to investigate, mediate or adjudicate the case of the Christian School Counsellor, Chris Kempling.