Some defenders of the rights of LGBTQ+ communities in Quebec are concerned… about what is happening in the United States.
In recent days, they have, in various media, expressed their fears in the wake of one of the – too many – controversial judgments handed down by the highest court in the land of Uncle Sam.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of an American from Colorado who refused to create a website, because of her religious beliefs, for the marriage of a homosexual couple. The court allowed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by invoking the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects freedom of speech.
It is not so much that a similar decision is rendered in Quebec in the short term that worries defenders of the rights of LGBTQ + communities for the moment.
While that kind of verdict is not inconceivable on this side of the border, there are some clear legal protections in Quebec against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Let us cite section 10 of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which provides for a right to equality. It states that “everyone has the right to full and equal recognition and exercise of human rights and freedoms, without distinction, exclusion or preference”, among others in relation to sexual orientation, or gender expression.
And in article 12, it is specified that no one can, by discrimination, go against the right to equality by refusing to conclude a “juridical act having for object goods or services ordinarily offered to the public”.
What is urgently problematic, however, is that the decision just handed down by the Supreme Court in the United States is the tip of a rapidly growing iceberg.
The rest of this iceberg was recently described by singer Elton John in a simple and concise way: there is “a growing wave of anger and homophobia that is spreading in the United States”.
He likened the attacks — both physical and political — faced by LGBTQ+ people to a virus.
Viruses, we know too well, do not give a damn about borders. And this one is very contagious.
We are not even speculating anymore.
The contamination is already visible.
The outbreak of hatred and intolerance tearing the United States apart is spreading like a slick of oil north of 49e parallel.
How else to interpret the movement against drag queens that has unfolded in recent months in Quebec? And its recovery by the leader of the Conservative Party, Éric Duhaime?
Anti-trans discourse is also on the rise. And he also found a flamboyant standard-bearer among local politicians: Maxime Bernier. The Beauceron recently unveiled a policy to fight against “the normalization of transgender ideology”.
So far, these positions, which transpire intolerance and stimulate hostility, have been conveyed by marginal politicians. But that’s no reason to let our guard down.
We have seen over the last decade in the United States that social progress is not irreversible. And that a politician who seems too radical to be elected can still triumph.
The figures are also alarming. The most recent available from Statistics Canada show that the number of hate crimes based on sexual orientation in Canada has increased markedly. We went from 258 incidents in 2020 to 423 in 2021. And that certainly represents an underestimate of the real number.
In the United States, the situation is likely to worsen rather than improve. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, close to 500 “anti-LGBTQ” laws have been put forward in various American states since the beginning of the year. A record.
Some contenders for the White House are among the most radical politicians on this subject. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign team has even just been accused of posting a homophobic video on Twitter.
Everything indicates that we will have a lot to do over the next few years, on this side of the border, to protect ourselves against this virus and thus prevent the situation from getting out of hand.