In a hearing convened by Canada’s Alberta Human Rights Tribunal on Monday, the lawyer for an anti-transgender advocate in the small town of Westlock (90 miles north of Edmonton), argued that a flyer distributed by her client calling on residents to protest the installation of a rainbow crosswalk with a trans flag was not hate speech, but an exercise in “free speech.”
“Could it be upsetting? Yes. Could it cause hurt feelings? Yes. But does it cause a person to feel hatred or contempt for trans individuals? We will say the answer to that question is a resounding no,” attorney Allison Pejovic said in opening remarks at the hearing.
I hate most rainbow crosswalks. Not because they are rainbows, I’m trans, I actually like that part. My issue is they tend to paint the whole sidewalk and not leave any bare pavement, which on my motorcycle in the rain feels like hitting a patch of ice.
Leave some bare strips of pavement across, please!