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to Issue #6
On Feb. 9th, Elaine Fuller, manager of Little Sister's Bookstore, presented an informative speech that awakened many to some grim realities about Canada.
The bookstore's court battle against Canada Custom's centres around discrimination against gay & lesbian bookstores and the unconstitutionsality of holding material before it has been declared.
The case has received nationwide media coverage, yet this coverage has not detailed the severity of the court's pending decision.
Their fight is not only about gay/lesbian art and literature, it's about power and fundamental rights.
Fuller detailed the case and the problems faced by the store with fighting the government. Little Sister's, with assistance from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association is facing severe financial constraints. Yet, their resolve has not dampened, they plan to fight all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.
The case has dragged on for three and a half years, mostly at requests from the government's lawyers. These delays have played into the government's hand in many ways.
The initial cost estimate ranged between $5,000 and $10,000 for the case. The tab right now is around $250,000. They need donations to help offset the cost.Canada Customs have unlimited reserves of taxpayers's cash.
Fuller explained that the cost of challenging the policies of Canada Customs was a better approach than appealing each held shipment. This would be tantamount to fighting battle after battle instead of trying to win the war.
In the past, Customs have delayed delivery for several months while they decide if material is pornographic or acceptable. Some shipments are still in the warehouses.
One particular shipment had its appeal delayed for some length, Customs then decided not to ban the literature, but they had burned the books.
Fuller also noted another problem with the long delays, which is illustrated by the example of John Preston. Preston is a well known American author of gay literature and most of his work is automatically banned in Canada. Fuller joked that Preston could write a booked on baking and it would be banned.
Preston was an enthusiastic supporter of Little Sister's and was to testify on their behalf. Every time the case was to be heard, the Crown asked for an extension of the delay. John Preston succumbed to AIDS before he could testify. This problem is not unique to Preston, other willing witness are also afflicted with either the HIV virus or AIDS and more delays could deny them the chance to testify as well.
In her speech, Fuller noted that the government's reason for requesting these delays was lack of sufficient time to prepare their defense. Ater three and a half years they are still not prepared.
The incompetence and blatant bias shown by Customs officials towards gay material is incredible. Often the material banned is never read. Customs officials seem to have a preset notion of what they regard as pornographic and scan through the material; until they locate what they want. Boom, material banned.
One government witness admitted he read a Cathy Ackers book and would have banned the book, but didn't because the final paragraph stated that society is not like that which was described throughout the book. How often then is material banned without complete examination of the material? One deputy minister admitted that he could not name one book that he had read and decided to ban.
With Canada Customs aggressively investigating shipments destined to stores that openly promote literature and art for alternative lifestyles, another major problem has developed.
There are very few Canadian authors for this literature. When works are completed, very few printers and publishers will distribute the material. They do not want to be associated with homosexual material, and the work does not make it out.
This means that the majority of material has to come from Great Britain or the U.S. Either way the literature must cross a border to get in Canada.
Fuller described the evidence of double standards in judging pornographic material, on set for heterosexual and one set for homosexual. She cited a case where books destined for Little Sister's were seized by Custom officials. These same works went untouched when sent to a larger (and coinicidently, not a gay/lesbian orientated store). The "Joy of Heterosexual Sex" is fine to distribute, but the "Joy of Gay Sex" is pornographic.
Fuller's speech was sponsored by SFPIRG, and her message was an important one.
The government enforces laws to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation, yet it refuses to change legislation that its agencies utilise to restrict rights and freedoms to homosexuals that heterosexuals enjoy.
The government insists that they are doing everything in their power to raise awareness and acceptance of gay and lesbians in mainstream society. They claim that the deep underlying prejudices of many Canadians cannot be changed overnight.
Little Sister's court case against Canada Customs is about discrimination and censorship. More importantly, it's about freedom, it's about the need for society to honesty accept alternative lifestyles without reservations.
It's also about government hypocrisy. It is one thing to say that you understand the gay community, it is another to actually believe yourself, especially when your actions and attitude display your ignorance.
Gay literature and art is not pornographic, it's reality. It accurately depicts and enhances a lifestyle, just as heterosexual art does for the straight community.
The government's unwillingness to accept this fact is the problem. Little Sister's Bookstore and Jeannine Fuller have plenty of support to help them fight this bias, but they need more.