Essay | A Pluralistic Balance

In the last decade, Canadian courts have increasingly recognized gay marriages. This recognition has been long overdue as the Canadian gay community was routinely oppressed prior to this string of court rulings. This was a definite victory for Canadian democracy, seeing that a minority group has had its rights protected. Paul Martin, after having presented the Civil Marriage Act, described it "as a natural and necessary evolution of minority-rights protection under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." (Den Tant, 2005) However, there are certain inconsistencies with this seemingly pluralistic approach that have become more apparent in recent years. Canadian democracy may be defined as "majority rule, minority rights," and with these decisions we can safely assume that the majority of Canadians are tolerant of gay marriages. It therefore follows that those against gay marriages are also a minority. As a result of this recent change in the political...
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