Here is an interesting follow-up from Peter O'Neil, the Vancouver Sun reporter who interviewed me for last weekend's paper. In it, he shares two interesting stories about Robinson that don't appear in the book.
Over the course of my research, I did indeed uncover these stories, but I couldn't find the right place to fit them in. Many times, I wished I could expand to a second volume. There certainly was enough material.
In any case, although I couldn't find the right spot in the narrative to include these stories myself, I'm glad Mr. O'Neil was able to share them, and provide you with his analysis of their impact.
I'd add this to his analysis: not only did Ringma's comments provoke a re-evaluation of the Reform Party's relationship with the homosexual community, as Preston Manning himself noted, but it impacted the Liberals, too. When I interviewed Liberal MP Hedy Fry for the biography, she recounted the battle in the Liberal caucus between those who supported including sexual orientation in the Human Rights Act, and those who opposed it. She cited the Ringma affair as one factor that tipped the balance.
"They were so appalled by that that they realized then that this was not simply a same-sex issue, but a human rights issue. And it turned a lot of them, who thought ‘Oh God, there's no damn way we’re standing up to vote with these bigots,” Fry told me.
Over the course of my research, I did indeed uncover these stories, but I couldn't find the right place to fit them in. Many times, I wished I could expand to a second volume. There certainly was enough material.
In any case, although I couldn't find the right spot in the narrative to include these stories myself, I'm glad Mr. O'Neil was able to share them, and provide you with his analysis of their impact.
I'd add this to his analysis: not only did Ringma's comments provoke a re-evaluation of the Reform Party's relationship with the homosexual community, as Preston Manning himself noted, but it impacted the Liberals, too. When I interviewed Liberal MP Hedy Fry for the biography, she recounted the battle in the Liberal caucus between those who supported including sexual orientation in the Human Rights Act, and those who opposed it. She cited the Ringma affair as one factor that tipped the balance.
"They were so appalled by that that they realized then that this was not simply a same-sex issue, but a human rights issue. And it turned a lot of them, who thought ‘Oh God, there's no damn way we’re standing up to vote with these bigots,” Fry told me.
RSS Feed
