One bride, who is part of a same-sex pair turned down by both an officer and a videographer, wishes to launch a dialogue with her account.
Kelly Roberts is due to marry Mallory Arthur in October 2021 and the pair from Woodstock, Ont., recently began preparing the wedding, only to crash into the roadblocks they had not planned.
Then it was an officer she had tried out online, but after they met in person they agreed that their union would not be accepted by his faith.
But it was the answer from a videographer from Brantford, Ont., and the reason given to refuse their company, that went viral.
“It was just how she made it known to me that the only reason she would not work with me is because of my sexuality. And I think that’s the part that just, it struck a nerve in me. I sat there and I was like she literally could have just told me she was already booked that day. And then I would have moved on. And that would have been that, but it was just that she had to make that point, that is what really hurt.”
Roberts claims she just posted the message because people in the LGBTQ+ community will realize the organization, Caramount Productions, wasn’t accepting, but it went viral afterwards.
“I don’t know it just exploded so fast…the awareness that it’s brought makes it worth it to me and I’m like I can’t even put into words how touched and grateful I am for the literal outpouring of support that we’ve received.”
The social networking pages for the organization concerned were taken offline, after critical feedback and complaints bombarded them.
Attempts to contact the organization via certain networks that have gone unanswered via phone that fax.
Roberts claims the hostile reaction to the business isn’t something that she chose to do, “but at the end of the day this issue is so much bigger than myself and my feelings that I feel like people need to see that, although it’s 2020 and we’ve progressed so far that it’s still happening.”
Same sex marriage became legal in Canada in 2005, and discrimination based on sexual identity is banned under the Canadian human rights act.
Susan Toth, a London, Ont. lawyer working with human rights issues, said they’re regulated by human rights laws whereas companies are private.
“It does appear that the denial of service was specifically as a result of the sexual orientation of the couple, and if that is the case, it could, on its face, be in contravention of section 1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, which guarantees service and equal treatment without discrimination based on a human rights protected ground, which includes sexual orientation.”
Although some wedding officers and certain special interest organizations have exceptions, Toth adds that this kind of scenario is already occurring very much.
“Unfortunately, I do see these issues on a regular basis, although often the discrimination is harder to prove as it is either systemic or more subtle, where it is clear that discrimination is occurring, but not explicitly stated.”
Roberts believes the issue can be debated by citizens about how badly that sort of rejection might affect.
“What I’m hoping people take away from this is just the awareness of it happening and also the opportunity to people, maybe engage in a dialogue with their families and friends who may hold similar beliefs and maybe challenge those belief systems and challenge your thoughts a little bit.”
Roberts says the pair have now identified a videographer for whom they are really delighted and have been overwhelmed for suggestions for other wedding vendors that help LGBTQ+ weddings.
