Polygamy
As the Supreme Court of Canada pondered the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, religious folk demanded their right to deny the church's wedding sacrament to gay men and lesbians if they so desired. The judges duly agreed, reinforcing the concept of religious freedom in their Dec. 9 decision -- and quite rightly so. Now we have the religious right and politicians like Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper, still trying to scuttle gay marriage, screaming that it will lead to legalized polygamy.
The acceptance of gay marriage is based on our Charter of Rights and Freedoms' prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation. Polygamy's got nothing to do with sexual orientation. It is -- in the main -- a lifestyle that's based on religion and religious belief (Mormons believed in polygamy, for example, before constant state harassment forced church leaders to retract the commandment). The end result of all this wailing is that anti-gay-marriage religious activists could force restrictions on religious freedoms in order to stop the possibility of legalized polygamy.