An update on a previous post, CBC reporting that a gay couple in Yellowknife refused an application to rent an apartment based upon their sexual orientation has been awarded $13,400. Northwest Territories human rights adjudicator James Posynick ruled that William Goertzen did not offer a justifiable reason for refusing Scott Robertson and Richard Anthony when the couple attempted to rent the main floor of his Yellowknife house in May, 2009, Goertzen, who attends an area Baptist Church telling the two he feared he would incur “’undue hardship’ by punishment of God” if he permitted gay people to live in his building. The couple had already signed a one-year lease and paid a $1,125 damage deposit, but once Goertzen learned their sexual orientation he refused to recognize the lease. According to the human rights panel ruling, Goertzen believes that “same-sex relationship are ’unnatural and against nature’ and that “’the Bible warns against being associated with such wickedness.” Posynick wrote that while Goertzen might not have acted with malice, he “certainly intended to discriminate” and that “He wilfully and with disregard for their legal rights, including rights under ... a valid tenancy agreement, for reasons relating to the sexual orientation of the complainants, denied their tenancy and the respect and dignity they are entitled to as fellow human beings.”
More than 2,000 attended a rally Monday, in Portland, Maine’s Deering Oaks Park, led by Lady Gaga, urging two moderate Maine GOP Senators to vote to repeal the American military ban on openly gay men and women from serving. According to the Associated Press, at the rally, organized by the non-partisan Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Gaga suggested that a new policy be enacted, one that targets straight soldiers “uncomfortable with gay soldiers in their midst. Our new law is called ‘If you don’t like it, go home,’” said Gaga.
According to the New York Times report on the rally, the Republican Senators in question, Senator Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe, who are publically undecided on the issue, Collins, through a spokesperson, said “she believes that our armed forces should welcome the service of any qualified individual who is willing and capable to serve our country,” adding that although the law was due “for a thorough review” but wanted that review completed prior to a full vote. Collins, is calling for an open vote on the repeal, as well as allowing members to offer amendments.
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