An affront to common sense
Justice: Canadian and American style
 | By William Bedford (Bio and Archives) Monday, June 11, 2012 | Print friendly | Subscribe | Email Us |
In the U.S. a bunch of religious fanatics gathered outside a cemetery where the funeral of a gay soldier killed in the Middle East was in progress. They held up placards declaring the deceased soldiers were going to hell because God hates gays.
Even though the protesters were disturbing the mourners, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they were protected by their constitutional right to free speech. In Canada, we went to the other extreme by jailing an elderly woman who was just carrying an anti-abortion sign. Both the American and Canadian judicial decisions in these two cases were an affront to common sense.
William Bedford
Toronto
CFP “Poet in Residence” William Bedford was born in Dublin, Ireland, but has lived in Toronto for most of his life. His poems and articles have been published in many Canadian journals and in some American publications.
William can be reached at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)