Knights entitled to deny lesbians, tribunal says [Canada]

The Globe and Mail ^ | Wednesday, November 30, 2005 | ROBERT MATAS

[TheGhostOfTomPaine]

The women booked the Knights of Columbus hall in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam...

The couple was unaware that the hall was operated by a Catholic organization and said they would not have rented the hall if they had known.... Puh-leeeez!!

Looks that way to me too. Here's a web page for the relevant branch of the K of C: http://homepage.mac.com/macwestman/kofc.html. Note that the hall -- which I'm assuming is the one they tried to rent -- is actually called the "Knights of Columbus Hall" and, moreover, is located smack-dab behind a Catholic church:

Knights of Columbus Hall
2245 Fraser Ave.
Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 6G8
behind
Our Lady of the Assumption
Catholic Church

[Theoden]

3rd Degree KofC Ping!

[sockmonkey]

This is crazy, and I don't believe the lesbian couple did not know the KoC was a Catholic Organization. On their website it states, the hall is located at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church.

These broads wanted a "test" case or money, or both-a pox on them and the horses they rode into town on.

[Deathmonger]

There are so many issues that this tribunal could resolve for us all:

Should PETA be forced to host a BBQ?
Should a black church be forced to host a KKK rally?
Should an orphanage be forced to host a NAMBLA convention?
Should Mensa be forced to admit morons?

All of these organizations are violating people's dignity and should give me $2000.

[little jeremiah]

later pingout.

[GatorGirl]

Dog Gone, I'd watch out if I were you--I think you just offended barbara finlay by calling barbara finlay she. The use of that pronoun relegates wymyn to a gender-specific paradigm which demeans them by suppressing their authentic personhood.

Whatever you do don't go to Canada, you'll be sued, for sure!

[GatorGirl]

If they had REALLY not wanted to make a scene and REALLY didn't know it was a Catholic organization, than why on this Green Earth, did they file a complaint with the human rights authorities when they were tossed out on their kiesters?

Do they really think we are so stupid?

[Dog Gone]

Egads, you're probably right!

[GatorGirl]

I'm glad you agree. Let's keep it gender-neutral around here from now on, eh? ;-)

[WilliamWallace1999]

Freepmail AlaninSA, he is keeping the KC ping list.

[doc30]

Did more research and it turns out that this particular K of C runs a non-descript, generic looking bingo hall that the lesbians in question thought was just a secular bingo hall. It wasn't the main hall of the K of C, just an affiliate under their jurisdiction. If that was the case, I have a little more sympathy for them. Not a lot because they did reject the apology of the church, the compensation they offered and chose to go to a human rights tribunals with a feminazi lawyer. After looking at their photo, all I can say is that they look like they were made for each other and are saving two men decades of pain.

[AlaninSA]

Please FReepmail me if you'd like to be added to or removed from the KofC ping list.

[AlaninSA]

Of course, it's possible my brother Knights in that Council thought they were renting the hall to a standard male/female couple...

[AlaninSA]

You're on the list now, brother.

[Frank Sheed]

I'm afraid this may not be as clear cut as some would wish to think. I don't know Canadian law, but in the U.S., Council halls MUST be owned by a separate "Home Corporation" with its own Board of Directors and which is independent from the routine Council officers. The Council itself (not the Home Corp) falls under the Supreme Council and cannot have in excess of $20,000 income per year in its treasury.

Many Councils have a very large home (some with banquet facilities) and so they rent the premises with a standard agreement to meet the mortgage. My Council does not rent outside to anyone not a Council member. In some cases, a third party can rent the Council home for someone else and the Council is then unpleasantly surprised to find that pro-abort politicians, Wiccans, satanists, or, in this case, a lesbian couple, signed the lease. As I said, the Home Corporation is under a separate Board of Directors and this puts the Council in a real bind.

The Supreme Council mandates that NO COUNCIL HOME MAY BE RENTED to those promoting abortion (and now lists other caveats in the Supreme Constitution, I believe). However, cases have happened in MA in which Wiccans rented property and others may know of other scandalous situations.

This sounds as if the Tribunal allowed the Council to get out of a lease due to the strong religious convictions of the organization (a conscience clause), but awarded what amounts to damages to the plaintiffs. Not happy about this, but as one poster said, the Home Corp manager must be really fastidious as to whom is renting the hall.

Francis Aloysius

[rasblue]

Who doens't know the Knights of Columbus is a Catholic Men's Charitable Club. Geez, even ten year old kids could tell you that.

[fwdude]

"the couple's lawyer, barbara finlay (who does not use capital letters in the spelling of her name),"

Wow! Alright then, I want the second and last letters of MY name capitalized... and no can say I don't have that right!!! (attitude sound vaguely familiar?)

[shaggy eel]

"I know the Catholic Church is against same-sex weddings. Why would I want to put myself in that position?" Ms. Chymyshyn said, adding that the experience was "embarrassing and humiliating."

,,, but has served well to give them the publicity they're so desperate for. Keep chipping away to get what you want. The Knights should scream "trauma" and do the dikes for a zillion bucks. All they need to do is find a lawyer who doesn't use capital letters in her name.

[Dog Gone]

I'm right there with you.

dOg goNe

[fwdude]

And put an ellipse (...) between them, or I'll sue!