The march of civil rights has always been uneven, with long passages of frustrating inaction punctuated by small steps and sudden leaps forward. These moments of change can be alarming for those who believe an advance of one community's rights must mean a retreat for theirs.
But this is wrong. The hard-won gains of women, visible minorities and people living with disabilities, accrued too slowly over many decades, have made our entire society richer and stronger. Changes that seemed shockingly radical at the time - from universal suffrage to interracial marriage - are uncontroversial facts of life today.
The Parents' Voice group in Burnaby that can't fathom why the school district needs to protect LGBT youth from bullying is on the wrong side of history. At least they have Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and Surrey North Liberal candidate Shinder Purewal for company. Ford's public boycott of his city's Pride events, and Purewal's call for Vancouver's to be banned prove we still have a tough slog ahead.
Everyone knows how cruel schoolchildren can be, and the hard truth is that baiting and humiliation has driven queer kids to suicide. Who's to say how many others carry emotional - and physical - scars into adulthood. Working to stop this is not "the political agenda of sex activists," as Parents' Voice warned. It's a defence of basic human rights that ought to transcend party politics.
Ending bullying was a signature issue for Premier Christy Clark. We look forward to her working with Liberals and New Democrats to protect all of B.C.'s young students from violence.
