Canada

The Globe and Mail reports that the federal government will “fast track” Bill C-36, their proposed law to rein in the sex trade in response to the Supreme Court of Canada throwing out the existing Criminal Code restrictions on prostitution last December. The government is seeking to penalize the purchasers of sex rather than the sellers, based on the “Nordic Model” followed in several Scandinavian countries to protect vulnerable women. The House of Commons heard testimony from experts on both sides during the summer and the Senate has already conducted its pre-study of the bill. House leader Peter Van Loan vowed to pass C-36 by December, but the NDP and Liberals are opposed to the law and want to debate it further … Andrew Scheer, Speaker of the House of Commons, refused a request by NDP critic for LGBT issues, Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca), to allow a vote on adding “gender identity” (transgender) to the list of identifiable groups protected under Canada’s hate crimes and human rights laws. Scheer said the issue was already dealt with in a similar bill, which did not pass, and parliamentary rules prevent the same issue from being brought before the House again if previously defeated … The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leadership convention will be held May 9, 2015. To participate Ontario residents must be a member of the party by February 28. Thus far the only declared candidates are MPPs Christine Elliott (Whitby-Oshawa) and Monte McNaughton (Lambton-Kent-Middlesex). Campaign Life Coalition rates Elliott pro-abortion and anti-family, while McNaughton has two pro-family votes on his record … Phil Lees, president of Public Education Advocates for Christian Equity, who published a report on his website about girls in an unidentified Toronto Catholic school who now have to share a washroom with a biological boy whose lesbian parent has chosen to identify him as a “girl.” The lesbian parent allegedly told the principal that under the federal “gender identity” Bill C-279, along with the provincial “gender identity” Bill 33 (Toby’s Law), her child could not be discriminated against and must be allowed to use whatever washroom he chooses. Lees told LifeSiteNews that the mother is “deathly afraid of being targeted” by activists if she were to go public with her concerns … Toronto mayoral candidate John Tory said the gay Pride festival should be denied city funding if Queers Against Israeli Apartheid is allowed to participate, but supports funding the event otherwise. This year Pride received $160,500 in Toronto taxpayer funding.

United States

Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan, spoke before 8000 hunting and fishing enthusiasts at the Outdoor Extravaganza in Shreveport, Louisiana, and chastised Christians for not voting. He also said that pro-abortion politicians do not deserve the votes of Christians: “If the dude or woman is for ripping human fetuses out of their mother’s womb, don’t ever vote for that. Don’t ever say ‘yes’ to that. It’s terrible” … Kira Kazantsev, winner of the Miss America contest, has been chastised by pro-life groups for serving an intern at Planned Parenthood in Hempstead New York doing “educational outreach” to schools … In 2004, 74 per cent of Louisiana voters approved a state constitutional amendment affirming that marriage was the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. US District Judge Martin Feldman upheld the gay marriage ban, ending a run of 20 state-level gay marriage bans being overturned by the courts. Feldman said same-sex “marriage” supporters failed to prove the ban violated equal protection or due process protections in the US Constitution.The Forum for Equality Louisiana said it would appeal the decision.

International

Frank van den Bleeken, 50, convicted of rape and murder in January and sentenced to life in prison, has requested death by lethal injection (euthanasia) for reasons of psychological suffering. Belgium does not have the death penalty and authorities have previously rejected euthanasia requests from prisoners who were not terminally ill. Belgium’s Justice Minister Maggie De Block has approved van den Bleeken’s euthanasia request … The (UK) Express reported that former USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev said that one of his most painful moments was the abortion that his late wife Raisa had when pregnant with rheumatic fever in 1953 during the first year of their marriage. The paper reported that Gorbachev was “emotional” about the abortion 61 years later … Last year, Zurich, Switzerland, began “drive-in brothel” services to move paid-sex away from residential areas and into government-run car port facilities. Vienna city councillor Sandra Frauenberger told Die Presse that her city is considering importing the idea to the Austrian capital. Dismissing moral concerns, Frauenberger said, “residents just do not want any noise or fear the risk of harassment” of pimps.