Law Matters John Carpay
Rachel Dolezal made headlines in 2015 after she was exposed as a white woman who had been representing herself as black for many years. Dolezal was removed as head of the Spokane chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and kicked off a police ombudsman commission. She also lost her job teaching African studies at Eastern Washington University.
Comparing herself to Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner, Dolezal claims that race is a social construct: “black is a culture, a philosophy, a political and social view.” Dolezal describes herself as “trans-black,” stating: “I definitely am not white.Calling myself black feels more accurate.” Her Caucasian biological parents hope and pray for “a continual global conversation on the issues of identity and integrity, which will resolve in the recognition that truth is kindness.”
Does reality matter? Should it?
Chloe Jennings-White is a well-accomplished research scientist with degrees from Cambridge and Stanford. She “knows” she is also a paraplegic, even though fate has dealt her fully functioning legs. She lives in a wheelchair with heavy-duty leg braces. She has asked doctors to sever her spinal cord so that her body will finally align with her own understanding of herself. Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), also known as apotemnophrenia, is a curious condition: the individual intensely feels that a particular limb or other body part does not belong. Some feel they are truly blind, but living with the unacceptable “burden” of working eyes. The transabled “know” their true essence, and many will go to extreme lengths (e.g. laying the limb on a railroad track to wait for a passing train to sever it) to create integrity between their actual body and their self-understanding.
Prominent feminists like Germaine Greer insist that a male-to-female trans person is not an actual woman.Likewise, there are the genuinely disabled who fiercely condemn the transabled as pretenders.
Trans-black, trans-abled, and trans-gendered: all three propose that feelings trump reality, and that reality should be altered so as to correspond with desires.
Bill C-16 will add “gender identity or expression” to the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act. Most provinces have also changed their laws, empowering human rights commissions to prosecute citizens for refusing to use “gender-neutral” pronouns rather than “he, she, his and hers,” and other forms of “misgendering.” These new federal and provincial laws are the first in Canadian history to require citizens – on threat of penalty – to use language even if they disagree with it. This is radically different from restricting speech for being hateful, blasphemous or discriminatory.Until now, some laws have said “you cannot say X.”.But C-16 says “you must say X.”
C-16 also adds “gender identity or expression” to section 319 (public incitement of hatred) of the Criminal Code. While I’m not likely to end up in jail for comparing transgender to trans-black and trans-abled, C-16 will certainly chill free expression in Canada. Most Canadians will not risk the possibility of accidentally crossing the line. Most Canadians will self-censor when it comes to saying anything about trans matters, in the way they already do when it comes to homosexuality.
C-16 is a step toward ending debate about how best to care for children who suffer from gender dysphoria.For children experiencing gender confusion before the age of puberty, this problem is resolved naturally by late adolescence for the vast majority. The American College of Pediatricians opposes using medicines to block puberty, followed by life-long use of toxic cross-sex hormones, because this sterilizes minors and causes other significant health risks. By enshrining one viewpoint in law, C-16 along with similar provincial laws will stifle healthy scientific and academic debate.
Allowing physical males to enter female-only places like bathrooms and locker rooms is another obvious problem, ignored by progressives who are keen to help us reach their utopia of “equality,” “tolerance,” “diversity,” and “inclusion.”
C-16 pretends to protect transgender people.In reality, these laws diminish Canadians’ freedoms and give government more power, even the power to compel citizens to violate their conscience by saying things they know to be false. These federal and provincial laws also harm the privacy and security of girls and women, needlessly putting girls’ and women’s safety and sexual integrity at risk.
Ultimately, light triumphs over darkness, justice over injustice, and good over evil. In the interim, Canadians who love truth and freedom will need to practice courage and perseverance, and continue to speak for justice, regardless of the cost of doing so.
