Religion in Politics
To the editor:
This weekend I was disturbed to see the amount of people that came out to protest the “Unborn Victims of Crime Act”, many of which belonged to various religious groups. These individuals never cease to amaze me with their ability to impose their values on the general population. Times have changed and we are no longer a people with a unified culture, as a matter of fact many people take pride in the diversity of our great country.
Yet for some reason we are forced to abide by several laws that hold some religious backing. Being a firm believer in proportional voting systems, if the majority of citizens agree with a particular religious law then by all means I will abide by it. But to force Canadians to follow laws based on someone elses beliefs is just plain wrong. Especially when that law can and most likely will affect people for the rest of their life.
As for this weekend’s protests, what gives several middle-aged males the right to pressure OUR elected officials about a law that couldn’t possibly affect them? If women would like to protest other women having abortions for non-religious reasons then by all means make a sign and carry it because they could at some point have to make a decision about abortion. When a teen couple is faced with an unplanned pregnancy the majority of the time the female becomes a single mother, with very little support from father if any at all. Even with support from the father it will drastically change the outcome of their lives. Women carry and give birth with or without the male partner, so the decision should be left in her hands and not those of a third party. Numerous studies have concluded that brain activity in a human fetus doesn’t begin until approximately five months. Only then is an individual with all the necessary components for life BORN. Thus, before that the fetus is living tissue but in no way alive, due to an inability to sustain life independent of the host. These are not pro-abortion statements; they are fact which anyone can find by picking up a medical journal or googling it!
In a great country like the one I live in laws should not be based on BELIEFS, instead only hard facts should be used. When a study showed that handguns where used specifically for close quarters combat and not hunting wildlife, a law was passed against the possession of them for the good our nation, not a specific group of people. This law hasn’t been protested or complained about because the major majority of Canadians agree that handguns are only used to kill other humans. StatsCan state that 816 Canadians were killed in 2002 by firearms (2/3 being handguns) compared to approx. 42900 firearm related deaths in the United States circa 1999. Now that’s a law I’d get behind, one that helps us all not imposes the beliefs of a few on many.
If religious groups follow religious law so vigorously that they deem it necessary to impose their laws/beliefs on others, where where the complaints and uproar from 1987 to 1998 when approximately 31% of Canadian marriages broke the vows they swore to in front of the eyes of God. There were no protests to make divorce illegal, or condemning words for those who decided to end a marriage. It would seem that their beliefs system allows for certain individuals to break religious law when deemed beneficial, while deciding whats best for others outside of that particular beliefs system.
I believe in a system that works for us all, and as a member of the GREATEST country in the world I would expect our people to support those who ask for help not shun and insult them. This is a call to arms for my fellow CANADIANS, be informed of current law amendments and SPEAK up on the ones that affect you, or could hurt others.
Sincerely hoping for a brighter tomorrow,
Mike Hall
By Mike
