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economist sunsuntribune saturday march 5 2005 t stouffville mgm suntnhune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director production interactive media john futhey advertising director retail flyer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucci distribution director circulation barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean letters to the editor denying marriage to gays hypocritical of canadians re mp disappoints on gay marriage letter feb 17 ask just about anyone they will all tell you theyre in favour of equal rights for homosexuals just name the situa tion and ask theyll all say yes gays should have the same rights in housing jobs and public accommodations they should have equal access to government bene fits and equal protection under the law then you get to gay marriage and thats when all this talk of equal ity stops dead cold demanding mr temelkovski vote against gay marriage is a prime example of this hypocrisy as a married straight father i take offence to this neanderthal attitude those against the bill say marriage is an institution between one man and one woman who says what marriage is and by whom is it to be defined the married isnt that like allowing a banker to decide who is going to own the money in his vaults it seems to me justice demands if the straight community cannot show a compelling reason to deny marriage to gay people it shouldnt be denied and simple nebulous declarations with no real moral argument behind them are hardly compelling reasons theyre really more like an expres sion of prejudice than any kind of a real argument the concept of not denying people rights unless you can show a compelling reason to deny them is the basis of the canadian ideal of human rights the values gay couples exhibit are often indistinguishable from those of their straight neighbours theyre loyal monogamous devoted partners they value and participate in family and community life many make valuable contributions to their communities serving on school boards volunteering in community charities and trying to be good citizens in doing so they take full advantage of their relationship to make not only their own lives better but those of their neighbours as well i did not vote for mr temelkovski but as one of his constituents i also demand he represent the wishes of myself and my family and vote in favour of legalizing and recognizing samesex marriages seeing as marriage was around before it was ever sanctified by a church perhaps we should do the smart logical and common sense tiling and drop religion from anything to do with marriage we should treat it as a bond between two human beings who love and hon our each other sound fair mike patterson stouffville screw up your courage ottawa legalize prostitution prostitution is an ugly tiring demean ing to both buyer and seller and it would be a far better world if it didnt exist at all and its about time we legalized it that proposal will be debated this week at the liberals national convention its also the topic being studied by five mps touring redlight districts of five cities this month not for nothing is prostitution known as the worlds oldest profession in virtually every society throughout history despite every attempt to eradicate the practice it has continued the results of our efforts to stop it under age prostitutes drug abuse scandalized neighbourhoods communicable diseases organized crime brutal assaults and mur ders and a huge waste of police efforts and tax dollars the act of prostitution is in fact legal in canada but everything associated with it is illegal soliciting communicating or allow ing it to take place in a building quaintly known as keeping a bawdy house bruce annan so the negotiation takes place quickly on a darkened street corner and the act takes place in the customers vehicle creating the opportunity for more than 50 murders of sex trade workers in vancouver the profession is legalized and regulated in countries as diverse as singapore and denmark israel and australia the canadian justice department reportedly has more than 20 studies on the subject with a recommen dation to decriminalize going back to 1985 this country likes to think of itself as liber al the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation said the father of our 500billion debt pierre trudeau yet we stigmatize if not criminalize both parties to a private act freely agreed to by consenting adults senator mac harb deserves credit for lead ing the move toward legalization in the face of the tsk tsk and tee hee reactions the lives of young women are at stake his suggestion is municipalities be given the power to choose if and where to set up legal areas much as they do now with strip joints and massage parlours where illicit acts are likely taking place already its proposed a trial zone be set up in ottawa insert your own joke here thanks to those who emailed me agree ing with my recent column on the kyoto accord and to those who wrote the editor to say um they disagreed somewhat i indeed have no phd in climatology neither do i have a morticians licence but ive written obituaries and kyoto might as well be dead when last weeks federal budget allocates 5 billion to the environment without once using the word kyoto even the government is finally embarrassed tim patterson of carleton university how ever does have a doctorate hes a paleoclima- tology specialist in the feb 10 national post he wrote if the climate science changes as it has over the past eight years government pol icy must adapt as well otherwise the policy becomes disconnected entirely from science and we waste billions going in entirely the wrong direction to global warmings true believers any temperature change proves theyre right the highaltitude air over the arctic this winter is the coldest ever recorded as to being called a dupe and a hack i guess that puts me in the company of bjorn lomborg he was the target of ad hominem attacks from scientists who couldnt refute his research methodolo gy for those who prefer nonfiction reading i recommend his book the skeptical environmentalist now if youll excuse me i have to go shov el some global warming bruceannangmailcom letters policy the suntribune welcomes your letters submissions must be less than 400 words and include a daytime telephone number name and address the suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and edit for clarity and space utters to the editor toe suntribune 34 civic ave box 154 stouffville on 14a7z5 jmason8yrngcom editorial editor jim mason jmasonyrngcom administration office manager vivian oneil voncilyrngeom events management shows shoivsyrngcom production manager pam nichols pnicholsyrngcom 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