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| Are government laws increasing or decreasing the presence or absence of discrimination |
 PRINTABLE VERSION |
Looking at a totally different society of the world today, let us take a look at a nation on a different continent all together, Zimbabwe. Like many developing nations, homosexuality is considered by both the government and the people as immoral. It is not yet in many developing nations been accepted as a way of living but in fact is said to be an disgusting immoral practice. With this in frame of mind many governments in these nations do not make any laws that in any way protect these people as they feel it is encouraging immorality in society. In June 1995, President Robert Mugabe abolished a book exhibition that had been organized by the Gay and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ). When explaining his action, President Mugabe stated that homosexuals are "worse than dogs and pigs" and that they should be cast out of society. He also inferred that it was not part of the African culture and was “perniciously imported” by the west. Zimbabwean church leaders did not take long to start weighing in on the matter and in fact the Zimbabwean Council of Churches stated that they agreed with the president on behalf of the Protestant religious community. They predictably cited Leviticus as proof that homosexuals are beyond the pale of Christian morality. Obviously if you are a homosexual, Zimbabwe should be your last choice to move to. (The Herald, June 30 1995)
In 1991, Delwin Vriend was fired from his job as a lab coordinator at a private Christian college in Edmonton, Alberta, for being an active homosexual, a "lifestyle choice" that contravened the college's moral code. Vriend took the Government of Alberta to court for not explicitly outlawing "sexual orientation" discrimination in its Individual Rights Protection Act (IRPA), an Act which explicitly outlaws discrimination on grounds of "race, religious belief, colour, gender, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income and family status." (Glenn Woiceshyn, Capitalism Magazine).
Moving onto another country we can see great similarities in the laws made in the fight against discrimination. Holland has made various attempts in order to fight this disgusting cases from developing any further than it had already. The Holland Human Relations Commission was created in 1966 to ensure that citizens of Holland have the opportunity to "...enjoy equal freedom to peaceably pursue their just aspirations; and that practices or conditions based on or resulting from considerations of race, creed, handicap, educational association, color, sex, age, marital status, or national origin, or association, which result in hindrance or restrictions upon the enjoyment or exercise of that freedom are harmful to the common good and contrary to the public policy of the City." (The Holland Human Relations Commission)
Section 2 of the Canadian Charter states "freedom of conscience," "freedom of thought, belief, opinion" and "freedom of association" are "fundamental freedoms" for every individual. Furthermore, section 7, under "legal rights," stipulates that "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person...." This means, and can only mean, that there is no right to a job (or guaranteed income), even if someone needs it, for that would violate the legal rights of those forced to provide it — a policy consistent with slavery, not liberty. Since the employer pays the wages he should be free to set the terms of employment, including moral conduct. The employee is free to either agree or look elsewhere for a job. If the employer is not free to fire an employee for violating the terms of employment, the employer essentially has no right to his own property — and, by implication, neither does anyone else. (The same is true for landlords.) The alternative is for government to dictate the terms of employment, a practice consistent with communism and fascism.
At the end of the day, as much as we all want to think the governments have successfully addressed and dealt with this issue of discrimination it is not completely the case-revising of many government human rights laws have to be made. Many women in the world today in both developed and developing countries have not yet enjoyed equal constitutional rights compared to men. A report quoted a CIA report by Xinhua news agency in China on February 16th 2000, says up to 50,000 women and children are smuggled from Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe each year. These victims “are subject to slavery and torture.” Why is this so? Racial discrimination is another one of the most serious social problems facing societies today.
It is only necessary to recognize that discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, education, age and residency all exists in most if not all parts of the world. It also essential to commend those governments which have made laws to fight against this ailment. However, it is probably high time governments which do not have any discrimination prevention laws enact them and those with them revise them so as to prevent contradictory laws in order to formulate specific amenable systems which will in turn serve to prevent human rights violations and protect the people.
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Communism and Fascism? dr. detroit | Mar 30th, 2004
"Section 2 of the Canadian Charter states "freedom of conscience," "freedom of thought, belief, opinion" and "freedom of association" are "fundamental freedoms" for every individual. Furthermore, section 7, under "legal rights," stipulates that "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person...." This means, and can only mean, that there is no right to a job (or guaranteed income), even if someone needs it, for that would violate the legal rights of those forced to provide it
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