This Explains Devon Anderson and Maya McKinney
Family violence can take many forms,” says Madam Justice Marzari of the Supreme Court of British Columbia,
including “unreasonable restrictions or preventions of a family member’s
personal autonomy.” To be more specific, “family violence” can now take
the form of refusing to accept a family member’s chosen gender
identity. Such is the violence inflicted on a fourteen-year-old girl
(referred to as AB) who is determined to be a boy, by her father (dubbed
CD), who insists she is no such thing.
The court will not stand idly by, insists Justice Marzari, knowing that AB is “harmed by the fact that it is his own father, whom he loves, who appears to be publicly rejecting his identity, perpetuating stories that reject his identity, and exposing him to degrading and violent commentary in social media” (A.B. v. C.D. and E.F., 2019 BCSC 604, par. 72). Under Justice Bowden, it has “already determined that it is a form of family violence to AB for any of his family members to address him by his birth name, refer to him as a girl or with female pronouns (whether to him directly or to third parties), or to attempt to persuade him to abandon treatment for gender dysphoria” (par. 21). And now it means to enforce its embargo on such behavior by permitting the arrest without warrant of CD, should he give the least appearance of persisting in this violence.
In the ruling, Justice Marzari attempts to reassure us that her commandeering even of CD’s pronouns is no serious violation of his liberty: “Neither is CD’s freedom of belief engaged by the orders sought. There is no requirement that CD change his views about what is best for AB. It is only how he expresses those views privately to AB and publicly to third parties that is affected” (par. 50).
So there you have it, CD. You are free to believe what you like. You can believe that neither individuals nor their doctors, nor even judges in courts of law, can make boys of girls or girls of boys. Just don’t tell anyone or we’ll have you up on fresh charges of violence or harassment or hate speech. We’ll have you behind bars. You wouldn’t want that, would you?
The court will not stand idly by, insists Justice Marzari, knowing that AB is “harmed by the fact that it is his own father, whom he loves, who appears to be publicly rejecting his identity, perpetuating stories that reject his identity, and exposing him to degrading and violent commentary in social media” (A.B. v. C.D. and E.F., 2019 BCSC 604, par. 72). Under Justice Bowden, it has “already determined that it is a form of family violence to AB for any of his family members to address him by his birth name, refer to him as a girl or with female pronouns (whether to him directly or to third parties), or to attempt to persuade him to abandon treatment for gender dysphoria” (par. 21). And now it means to enforce its embargo on such behavior by permitting the arrest without warrant of CD, should he give the least appearance of persisting in this violence.
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| Maya McKinney |
In the ruling, Justice Marzari attempts to reassure us that her commandeering even of CD’s pronouns is no serious violation of his liberty: “Neither is CD’s freedom of belief engaged by the orders sought. There is no requirement that CD change his views about what is best for AB. It is only how he expresses those views privately to AB and publicly to third parties that is affected” (par. 50).
So there you have it, CD. You are free to believe what you like. You can believe that neither individuals nor their doctors, nor even judges in courts of law, can make boys of girls or girls of boys. Just don’t tell anyone or we’ll have you up on fresh charges of violence or harassment or hate speech. We’ll have you behind bars. You wouldn’t want that, would you?
Labels: Canada, Family Violence, transgender
posted by jope @ May 13, 2019
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