Anti-Christian bigotry -- how one group fought back and won

Anti-Christian council meeting

On May 5, 2014 the Nanaimo (BC, Canada) passed a motion 8-1 that would restrict the rental of public property by Christian groups. This lead to a Christian-bashing session in which 8 of the aldermen expressed their anti-Christian sentiments. In the short YouTube video below, one of the aldermen compares Christians to Boko Haran, the terrorist group that kidnapped 270 school girls in Nigeria.

The original motion

In the original motion, councillor Fred Pattje moved that “any events that are associated with organizations of people that promote or have a history of divisiveness, homophobia or other expressions of hate” not be allowed to rent Nanaimo public facilities. Specifically it said that they should tear up the contract that allowed the Leadercast event to be broadcast in 4 days time.

Leadercast is an annual event held in Atlanta. Speakers are leaders who make a big difference. This year’s speakers included Laura Bush and Desmond Tutu.

It is telecast on giant television screens around the world. People in Nanaimo had paid $60 each to go to the event. Four days before Leadercast, the Nanaimo city council tore up the contract.

There were two specific reasons given for tearing up the contract: 1. One of the speakers, Dr. Henry Cloud, holds the view that homosexuality can be reversed. 2. The president of one of the corporate sponsors, Chick-Fil-A, holds the view that same-sex marriage should not be allowed.

Reasons behind motion

Dr. Cloud is a business consultant and a clinical psychologist. It is very likely that his has read examples (¹, ², ³) on the Internet of homosexuality being reversed. What is so weird of him believing that? After all, he has a doctorate in psychology.

Same-sex couples are allowed to adopt children. Again the Internet can provide at least one statistically-valid study showing that children from traditional marriages fare better (¹) than their same-sex counterparts. It is reasonable to assume that someone familiar with the study might be strongly in favor of sticking to traditional marriages.

So, if this data is available on the Internet, some people might believe it. What the bigots in the Nanaimo city council are saying is that believing the information and telling people about it is a hate crime. Freedom of thought is a basic fundamental freedom of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Below is s short YouTube video giving the original motion.

The good news

A fine Jewish lawyer by the name of Ezra Levant decided to help the Christians out. Ezra is a television personality with Sun Media. When he found out about the anti-Christian bigotry at the Nanaimo city council, he devoted an entire television show to it. The broadcast is reproduced in the YouTube video below.

He raised money for legal fees and encouraged people to use the social media, etc. to expose the bigots.

The Christians won. In early July the Nanaimo city council rescinded their May 5 motion and, in a secret meeting, decided to give an unspecified amount of money as compensation for their wrongdoing.

Six Months Later — Vote the Bigots Out

In the 6 months following the May 5 meeting there was a social media outcry.

Election results:

Fred Pattje, the man who brought the original motion, was voted out.
Long-time mayor John Ruttan was voted out along with several councillors.
- Previous election John Ruttan got 52% of the votes
- This election he got 15%.
Bill McCay, the only councillor who voted against the motion, became mayor.

Below is the original TV broadcast that Ezra Levant made.

The moral of the story

When anti-Christian bigots abuse the fundamental rights within a country, figure out a way to fight back. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Anti-Christian Bigotry