Mayor sparks gay rage

Canoe ^ | June 22, 2002 | DAN PALMER

[Black Powder]

Won't proclaim gay pride day

Edmonton's homosexual community plans to file a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission because Mayor Bill Smith declined to proclaim today gay pride day.

"You can't discriminate based on sexual orientation," Edmonton Pride Committee spokesman Murray Billett said yesterday.

"The mayor has done this by denying the proclamation."

Smith said yesterday he didn't want to comment much about denying the proclamation because of the threat of legal action.

But he did give his primary reason.

"I'm a Christian Catholic and it goes against my personal belief," said Smith.

Today, roughly 1,000 people are expected to participate in a gay pride parade that starts at noon near Jasper Avenue and 111 Street. The parade ends near Jasper Avenue and 119 Street.

"We wanted to read the proclamation (today)," said Billett. "I honestly thought he'd give us the proclamation this year."

That's because of recent changes the province introduced to same-sex legislation and the group's belief Smith would've changed his tune, he said.

Billett added the Edmonton Pride press release about Smith denying the proclamation and the organization considering legal steps wasn't supposed to be sent out until Monday, after today's parade.

Billett said someone leaked it.

"(The Monday release) was so we wouldn't have to deal with the controversy during the weekend," he said.

"We wanted to have our celebration."

[dighton]

All right, I'm a single male who is fond of women. Where's MY parade?

[Yeti]

LOL!!!

[Lorenb420]

At least in Alberta it's only one day, in Toronto they have 'pride week' and the mayor is more than happy to be a part of it.

[dighton]

Pervert.... :-)

Adult child of heterosexuals, so try not to be judgmental.

;-)

[goldstategop]

The Canadian heterophobes think a parade's an entitlement. And they get hopping mad if the mayor doesn't give them one. Now there's socialism at work for ya. Pity the poor mayor who thinks heterophobes can march under their own banner like every one else without the implied endorsement of the government. The lack of endorsement's the same as discrimination you see and that's verboten.

[Alberta's Child]

It's not just a coincidence that the one politician who has made a stand is the mayor of a city in Alberta. It's probably one of the few places in North America where someone who marches in a gay pride parade on Sunday has to worry about what people might do to him when he goes back to work on Monday.

[Paul Atreides]

I would proclaim it Gay Pride Day; I think families of happy lions are wonderful.

[Ronin]

When you find it, let me know. I wanna join. I got some nifty ideas for floats.

[mlmr]

to be honest, that sounds wonderful. tell me more about alberta and its people.

[FreedomAvatar]

Geez...bet the rodents in that town are breathing a sigh of relief.

[Alberta's Child]

I can best describe Albertans in one sentence: They are generally the friendliest, most honest, intelligent, educated, and morally upright rednecks you've ever met.

I stopped in a bar once at the west end of Calgary a few years ago while traveling all over the Canadian Rockies. I got into a conversation with a couple of guys about a baseball game on television, and when they heard that I was a visitor from the U.S. they asked me (suspiciously) what I was selling up there. When I told them I was simply on a long vacation, they became fascinated and we spent four hours talking about western Canada, the U.S., and a whole bunch of things.

It turned out one of the guys owned the place, and they asked me to spend a few days with them and their familes up at his cabin on Sylvan Lake for their annual August get-together. Then they asked me my name. They're great friends of mine to this day.

As the night wore on we were occasionally interrupted by a loud argument going on between two intoxicated guys in the corner of the bar. They would speak quietly, then louder, then would be shouting at each other until one of them would grab the other and they would wrestle on the floor for about two minutes. Then they would get up, brush themselves off, and go through it all over again. This happened about 7 or 8 times over the course of an hour.

When I came back the next day, I asked the owner what had happened to them.

"Oh, everything turned out all right," he said, "They got into a real loud argument and fight right before closing time, and I was about to call the police. But then they got up, agreed that no matter how much they disliked each other at least they weren't homosexuals, and decided to go to a park downtown and look for gay men to beat up if they caught them in the bushes."

[JmyBryan]

(gay rage = no KY???)

[Vidalia]

Edmonton's Mayor Bill Smith declares, by his inaction....Hath declared.....

A Great Day,    A Great Week,     A Great Month,     Even a Great Year of pride about those who have married, have legitimate lives, wives and children!!!

Gay pride on the other hand are against heterosexual marriage, normal lives, and children living normal lives with two healthy parents of both genders. Where is the oddity in this, girls and boys???

[dighton]

When you find it, let me know. I wanna join. I got some nifty ideas for floats.

OK, plenty of room for helium there and there and there.

[brat]

BRAVO, Mr. Smith! For every Gay Pride Day, there should be a Straight Pride Day too.

[SkyPilot]

How people can shout from the roof tops that they are "proud" of this display is beyond me.

A little shame would be order.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

"You can't discriminate based on sexual orientation," Edmonton Pride Committee spokesman Murray Billett said yesterday.

But...but... wouldn't the issuance of such a proclamation be discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation?

[goodieD]

Sounds like a great place!

[goodieD]

A little shame would be order

But shame would hurt their self esteem. Barf, hack, choke. I was born in the wrong century.

Victorian bump.

[Jeff Chandler]

Edmonton's homosexual community plans to file a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission because Mayor Bill Smith declined to proclaim today gay pride day.

Well, isn't that special?

[Jeff Chandler]

My family went to Alberta on vacation when I was a teen and I can attest to the friendliness of the people, AND the unparalleled beauty of the land there.

[Ann Archy]

LOL!!!!

[Ann Archy]

It's like having an UGLY Pride Day!!!! What's to be Proud of?

[SkyPilot]

But shame would hurt their self esteem.

I remember William Bennet once said:

"The problem today is NOT that people lack "Self-Esteem", but that they lack basic self-respect."

Did you ever notice that those who froth on and on about "self-esteem" have done little to earn it?

[goodieD]

William Bennett is a wonderful author and a heck of a guy.

[VA Advogado]

How people can shout from the roof tops that they are "proud" of this display is beyond me.

As a heterosexual, I usually have to wait for the third date to get that far. :)

[The Mayor]

"The mayor has done this by denying the proclamation."

sounds like something i'd do....

[babylonian]

A Gay Pride parade? Nuns and Dorothys galore!

[Focault's Pendulum]

All right, I'm a single male who is fond of women. Where's MY parade?

I'd march with ya but people might get the wrong idea.

[Don Myers]

What did the gay do? Did he throw down his purse and stamp his feet?

[Senator Pardek]

Where's MY parade?

May I offer a slogan?

WE'RE STRAIGHT
WE MATE
GET USED TO IT!

[Hacksaw]

"I'm a Christian Catholic and it goes against my personal belief," said Smith.

Good for you! It is not easy to stand up against PC nonsense. You are branded as "insensitive", "intolerant", "narrow minded", ---etc.

More people need to follow his example (and no, I do not hate homos, I simply think that a government endorsed parade celebrating their abnormal lifestyle is silly.

[dighton]

WE'RE HERE!
WE DRINK BEER!
WE LIKE THE PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR!

[Clint N. Suhks]

A STRAIGHT BEATS TWO-OF-A- KIND

[Gopher Broke]

Canada is a prime example of homosexual rights gone amuck. Pastors on TV who show their programs CANNOT stand up against the homosexual agenda.......

Canada=no free speech

[biblewonk]

Yeah that's something to be proud of.

[TonyRo76]

WE'RE STRAIGHT
WE MATE
ONLY WE CAN PRO-CREATE!

[TonyRo76]

Or another possibility....

YOU'RE QUEER...WE'VE HEARD
BUT YOU CANNOT FERTILIZE A TURD!

[Rebelbase]

Gay Rage?...LOL! "I'll sthmack you with my thong, you big brute!"

[TonyRo76]

I think I like Alberta. Sounds like my kinda place :-)

[TADSLOS]

All right, I'm a single male who is fond of women. Where's MY parade?

At any strip club, but you normally have to pay to get in and the table dan....ahem..."parades", cost extra.

[lavaroise]

All right, I'm a single male who is fond of women. Where's MY parade? GAYS with liberty and justice for all gays.

[lavaroise]

All right, I'm a single male who is fond of women. Where's MY parade?

One nation, under GAYS with liberty and justice for all gays.

[Clint N. Suhks]

YOU'RE QUEER...WE'VE HEARD BUT YOU CANNOT FERTILIZE A TURD!

Yep, the only thing those who pretend an anus is a vagina can reproduce are dirt babies.
Dirt babies never live.

[Clint N. Suhks]

One nation, under GAYS with liberty and justice for all gays.

That’s funny, I thought they already had those things.

[TonyRo76]

Today, roughly 1,000 people are expected to participate in a gay pride parade

At least it's reassuring to know Alberta has more steers than queers!

[Republicus2001]

Gay rage? OMG, now they've done it!