Orlando mass shooting may be watershed moment in U.S. presidential campaign

In the U.S., Trump has been using the Orlando shooting to bolster his anti-Muslim, anti-immigration rhetoric. By coincidence, two reports urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to issue an official apology for the discrimination long endured by Canada's LGBTQ community have just landed on the government's desk. Post-Orlando, it may be hard to ignore those calls.

When former prime minister Jean Chrétien set out to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in 1996, a pitched battle ensued in the House of Commons. So divided were his own MPs that Chrétien had to allow a free vote to avoid a rebellion of the social conservatives within his caucus. In hindsight, it is hard to believe that 53 MPs voted against protecting Canada's LGBTQ community from discrimination or that about the same number believed the risks to freedom of speech offset the need to protect gay Canadians—as a group—from hate speech.The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

Opinion

BY CHANTAL HÉBERT

June 20, 2016

MONTREAL—Mere hours after the Orlando mass shooting it was already clear that its political fallout in the United States would be both divisive and significant. The tragedy is inflaming an already polarized presidential contest. It may yet turn out to be a watershed moment in the campaign. The ec...

To keep reading, subscribe and become a political insider.

Only $7.76 a week for an annual subscription.

Enjoy unlimited website access and the digital newspaper.

Cancel anytime.

Already a Subscriber?

Get Weekend Point of View Newsletter

A round up of the past weekâ€™s opinion writers and columnists on Saturdays and Sundays.

By entering your email address you consent to receive email from The Hill Times containing news, analysis, updates and offers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy