On Rights, Stephen Harper, and Gay Marriage

Leader of the Opposition Stephen Harper has been vilified over the last few days for his remarks initiating debate on the Liberals' bill to expand the definition of marriage.

Part of the vilification has been over his refusal to recognise marriage as a "right". He noted:

"The Prime Minister cannot, through grand rhetoric, turn his political decision to change the definition of marriage into a basic human right, because it is not. It is simply a political judgment.... Same-sex marriage is not a human right."

The Left has, in recent years, conflated "rights" with its policy preferences. This tactic is so successful precisely because it is a one-word way to marginalise your opponent's position: how could anyone be opposed to "rights"? Now, allowing private delivery of health services is wrong, as people have a "right" to health care. Allowing smoking in private establishments is wrong, as people have a "right" not to breathe smoke. And now, apparently, access to marriage is a fundamental human "right".

The unfortunate corrolary of this superfluous rights discourse is to desensitise individuals to *actual* struggles for fundamental human rights.

Ask the activist in Zimbabwe about rights. He's been beaten for participating in opposition politics. He'll respond that just being able speak his mind freely is a right that should be protected.

Speak to the politician in Nepal about rights. He's recently been put under house arrest by the King as the country regresses towards an absolute monarchy. He'll respond that freedom from arbitrary detention is an important right.

Talk to the poet in Cuba about rights. He's been jailed for 25 years because he called for a referendum to create a multi-party political system. He'll respond that a free and fair franchise is an important right.

It's unfortunate that political discourse in this country has degenerated to the point where just about everything is a right (requiring a claim on others, of course, if you cannot provide it yourself). Rhetorical tactics like these only serve to alienate rather than attract people like me, who in the absence of the state leaving marriage entirely, support extending marital recognition to gay couples.

The Left been remarkably successful in its effort to get many of its pet projects recognised as human-rights issues. But this has been at the expense of cheapening the international struggle for real human rights--free speech, free assembly, and the franchise, for example--for which thousands of individuals throughout the world risk imprisonment and death on a daily basis.