Demagogue

Social conservatives in Canada are hoping to capitalize on the recent election of Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper by putting the brakes on same-sex marriage. Last year, Canada became only the 4th nation in the world to permit same-sex marriages, but Harper's government could try to revoke gay marriage rights:

Conservative leader Stephen Harper, who campaigned on the promise that he would allow Parliament to vote on whether to reopen the issue, said last week he "would prefer to do it sooner rather than later, but not immediately."

If Parliament approved the motion, the government would then introduce legislation changing the definition of marriage back to that of a union between a man and a woman. Both supporters and opponents say the vote will be very tight, especially since Harper does not control a majority of the 308 seats in the House of Commons.

"There's a real risk that this motion (to reconsider) could succeed ... and we need to deal with it," said Laurie Arron of the gay rights group Egale, who calculates that around 150 legislators would for certain oppose the motion.

Meanwhile, religious right groups (yes, a few of those exist in Canada) are anxiously anticipating Harper's announcement on the issue:

"We're just happy, to be be honest, to have a chance to deal with this," said Derek Rogusky of Focus on the Family.

Given the rhetoric of anti-gay marriage groups, I'm assuming that Rogusky and his allies will present hundreds of examples of heterosexual couples whose marriages collapsed in the aftermath of gay marriage.