“Come Out” For Free Speech
The Pride Coalition for Free Speech launched on May 23, 2010 as a group of LGBT Toronto individuals that support a diversity of political opinion in Pride Toronto activities.
Toronto, Ontario – May 25, 2010 -- The Pride Coalition for Free Speech supports diversity of political opinion in Pride Toronto activities. Launched on May 23, 2010 we are a group of individuals with diverse views and perspectives, united in opposition to Pride Toronto’s attempts at censorship.
Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights of all Canadians, enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This freedom is of particular importance to the communities that have built the Pride movement and worked in the fight for equality for decades.
Since it's inception, Pride has been a forum in which diverse political opinions can be incubated, developed and celebrated. It is only because we have fought for and encouraged the expression of different points of view that we have progressed equality rights.
For the last 30 years, Pride festivals have had a diversity of political opinion without significant safety incident. In the event of safety incidents, police are there to do their job.
We encourage Pride Toronto to engage in a broad-based community consultation on its policy regarding banning of terminology.
Pride is not just a party – it is an expression of our collective desire for human rights.
We hope that all sponsors and funding partners will continue to support a diverse and inclusive pride.
We do not support Pride Toronto’s decision to ban the use of terminology. Pride Toronto’s recent actions beg a question beyond Israel, beyond Palestine, and towards a larger question of censorship.
We believe that Pride Toronto’s decision is dangerous for its precedent. If Pride Toronto can censor one group of political opinion, who’s next?
Pride Toronto’s slogan is “You Belong”, yet at Pride Toronto today, not all are welcome.
We call upon the board of Pride Toronto to rescind its decision and allow all groups to march, subject to proven evidence of non-compliance with anti-discrimination laws.
We support hate crimes legislation, and call upon the police and the courts to use its authority to enforce such legislation as necessary. We do not support volunteer community members being in the position of self-censoring other queers as has occurred through this Pride Toronto decision.
We believe that Toronto is a city that can be a global model for solving conflict - where differences can be resolved on a foundation of free speech, through use of dialogue, negotiation, and the law if necessary, but not through censorship.
We encourage all to come out in favour of free speech. Visit our Facebook page for more information.
Media Contact:
Brad Fraser - Tel: 416-878-5453
The site for the Toronto local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.