FELDSTED -- Ralph Goodale should be ashamed of himself ... what rights the gay community enjoys have been won through determination and costly court actions

GLOBAL NEWS ... Liberals went trolling Thursday for young, progressive-minded voters with 14-year-old video footage of Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer speaking out against same-sex marriage — a tactic that prompted Jagmeet Singh to vow that New Democrats won’t prop up a minority Conservative government.

CBC NEWS ... on an otherwise unremarkable morning in mid-August, video of Scheer speaking in the House of Commons in 2005 appeared on Twitter. After Ralph Goodale (or whoever runs Goodale's Twitter account) posted the clip, a succession of Liberals piled on, reposting it and adding their own comments.

Liberal Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale

This is one of the most cynical, hypocritical and useless “attack ads” imaginable.

Ralph Goodale should be ashamed of himself, if any Liberal has the capacity for remorse and shame. When the gay community was fighting for equal rights, the Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois, Greens, Liberals and NDP all sat primly on the sidelines and did nothing to advance gay rights.

What rights the gay community enjoys have been won through determination and costly court actions

Gay marriage was approved by provincial courts, Ontario June 2003, British Columbia July 2003, Quebec March 2004, Yukon July 2004, Manitoba and Nova Scotia September 2004, Saskatchewan November 2004 and New Brunswick June 2005.

When parliament belatedly passed the Civil Marriage Act in July 2005, provinces representing 90% of the population were already performing same-sex marriages.

Political leaders did not attend gay pride parades until after the right to marry had been won. Their appearances now are meaningless glad-handing. They are trolling for votes, not supporting the gay community.

What rights the gay community enjoys have been won through determination and costly court actions. Politicians and their parties can take no credit. They sat with a finger in the air, trying to read public opinion rather than risk a push-back and losing votes for doing the right thing.

Nothing has changed.

No political party has the courage to risk going against public opinion and the courts to rescind gay marriage law. It would be the wrong thing to do and every politician knows it. The attempt to turn this into an election issue is ridiculous.

People attend gay pride parades for a variety of reasons; to gather and celebrate achievements, to support family members and friends, and to dare to be different.

Politicians attend for one reason: “Look at me; aren’t I special for just being here”!

No, you aren’t.

The Way I See It ~~ John Feldsted

Political commentator, Consultant & Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba