REAL Women's real bigotry

John Baird - doing the right thing

 

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has done a commendable job of defending gay rights everywhere from Uganda to Russia. Not everyone agrees, however, with his initiatives. REAL Women of Canada, a group that describes itself as a "pro-family conservative women's movement," has roundly criticized Mr. Baird for his attention to gays' human rights.  Referring to him as a "left-wing elitist," thus bending the term "left-wing" into an entirely new shape, they accuse him of attempting to impose his personal values on other sovereign states. (One assumes these venerable ladies would be above transporting their ideas about family values, or Christian values generally, to foreign lands.)

When it comes to homosexuality, most Christians are content with St. Augustine's dictum. "Love the sinner, hate the sin," a problematic but morally rational approach. REAL Women's attack on Mr Baird for opposing legislation such as Uganda's, which imposes 14-year sentences for homosexual behaviour, strongly suggest they hate both sin and sinner, and this is inclined less to morality than it is to simple bigotry.

REAL Women claim the Minister's actions are destructive to the conservative base in Canada, and they may be right. If they are, then Mr. Baird deserves even greater credit for his principled stand. I applaud his efforts and encourage him to keep up the good work.