GRITS PUT POT DEBATE TO PASTURE

Gay Marriage, Hooker Laws In Spotlight

Liberals side-stepped a convention showdown yesterday on legalizing
marijuana, opting instead to push the legalization of prostitution and
endorse gay marriage. The Grits who gathered to debate policy which
will set the tone for the next federal election, kept their raucous
debate over stiffer minimum sentences for marijuana grow ops and
legalizing pot to a workshop.

About 600 Liberals at the conventions supported both marijuana
resolutions, but when forced to pick a favourite they opted instead to
push the federal government to review the Criminal Code section which
makes prostitution illegal, a choice overwhelmingly backed by the
2,500 delegates at the convention.

"It is the responsibility of the state and the Liberal government to
protect their citizens," said Kristopher Ade, a young Manitoba Liberal
spearheading the move to legalize prostitution. "We have ignored (sex
workers') plight far too long."

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler applauded the move to shift the focus to
the plight of prostitutes and away from pot.

Cotler said he supports improving the quality of life for prostitutes,
and has tasked a Commons committee to review the legislation that
makes prostitution illegal.

"The sex trade workers will tell you that the nature of the present
legal framework renders them more vulnerable," Cotler said. "And one
of the objectives that I have as a minister of justice is to protect
the most vulnerable among us, and that includes sex trade workers."

CHANGING TIMES

But Cotler fell short of backing red-light districts, which critics
say would be the natural result of legalizing the world's oldest profession.

Grits also backed a resolution to support same-sex marriage -- backing
the Liberal government's legislation that will do the same.

Similar resolutions have been voted down at past Grit conventions.

But times have changed, said one delegate after another. Those who
stood up in defence of traditional marriage were clearly in the
minority. A delegate who yelled: "What's next, pedophilia?" was jeered
by the crowd.

The gay-marriage endorsement came as religious and pro-family groups
launched an ad campaign attacking high-profile targets -- Immigration
Minister Joe Volpe, Deputy PM Anne McLellan and Natural Resources
Minister John Efford.

One ad recalls how Volpe, in August 2003, told Toronto churchgoers
that a court judgment legalizing same-sex marriage was an "error" that
he needed their help to correct.

Volpe conceded that his position has evolved since then, saying he'll
support the legislation because it protects the rights of religious
institutions to decide against marrying gays and lesbians.

McLellan said legalizing pot and prostitution might have been expected
from a convention featuring many young Grits.

"I would be amazed if young Liberals didn't come to a convention like
this and push the envelope a little bit," McLellan said.

However, what happens at the convention doesn't tie the government's
hand.

MP Dan McTeague called the social debates "bewildering and
mind-boggling.

"There are opinions out there on the floor being passed that haven't
been tested in main street," he said. "I don't think any of them are
sellers on the doorstep."