Going to Hell in a (Fabulous!) Handcart

A gay couple in the NorthWest Territories has won their case with the Human Rights Commission when their landlord refused them after he found out that they were a gay couple. He claimed that his justification for doing so was that he feared hell's reprisals for lodging a gay couple and tried to declare that his right to religious freedom trumped the couple's right to dignity.

Here's a great excerpt:
The tribunal heard Goertzen referred to gay people as "an abomination and one of the reasons the world is going to hell in a hand basket."

I think what he means is a FAH-bulous hand basket. Because you see, if we're going down with the gays, we should be going down in style.

It's incredible how there are still small-minded people out there who believe in such outmoded ideas about people and their sexual orientation. But this isn't the only part of the story that makes this man look bad. Not only did he refuse to honour the tenant agreement that was already signed, he immediately put the property back on the market upon his discovery that the couple was gay. No warning, no due diligence, and no obligation to honour the contract that he also signed as a landlord. He also didn't reimburse the couple their two week deposit after they had unknowingly been evicted; because it's not ok to harbour gays, but apparently it is ok to take their money.

He essentially left this couple homeless and took their money, reneged on their agreement, and then tried to hide behind his religious beliefs for what are somewhat unscrupulous acts. Granted, given that this amounts to lying and petty theft, maybe this man has a legitimate reason to fear hell. But it appears that sheltering gays will be the least of his problems when he gets there.

It's funny how religion can be interpreted so conveniently, how this man seems to beleive that God will forgive him from stealing and lying to people who rent from him, but not if those people are gay.

What do we really have to fear from gay people anyway? Mainstream media has basically taught us that the threat of gay people usually results in more interior decorating stores, and can God really hate interior decorating that much?

I'm glad that this couple won their case and that the court recognized discriminatory and unnecessary behavior when they saw it. Because not everyone does.