Some disappointing news today from the Law Society of BC.  We are hopeful that the will of a substantial number of lawyers across the province is not ignored.

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Law Society of BC has decided to put the question of whether to pull its accreditation of Trinity Western University’s proposed law school to all of its members.

Benchers have voted in favour of a binding referendum, which must take place before October 30th.

Critics takes issue with a community covenant within the university that they say is discriminatory because it forbids sex outside of heterosexual marriage, requiring students to abstain from “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.”

Lawyers in this province previously approved accreditation for the school, but some lawyers have expressed outrage because the school requires students and staff to sign a covenant which says they will not engage in homosexual activities.

A motion proposing lawyers immediately reverse their decision failed by a count of nine to 21 of voting benchers.

From cbc.ca:

Jim Deva, a leader in Vancouver's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, died unexpectedly on Sunday afternoon.

Deva co-founded Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium on Davie Street in 1983.

Vancouver lawyer barbara findlay (who spells her name without capital letters) said Deva became a staunch defender of freedom of speech.

"He and the book store stood up for freedom of speech all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada twice."

Deva and his partners in the store went to court after the Canada Border Services Agency prevented materials it deemed as obscene from being delivered to the store.   

Jim Deva co-founded Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium in 1983 with Bruce Smyth. (Exploding Boy/Wikipedia)

"He fought against that kind of de facto censorship and stood up for the right of every person to have sex when and where they wanted to," said findlay.

"Deva's legacy really can't be overstated...He established a community centre as well as a book store and this has been a place that everybody has looked to for information, for support, for advice," said findlay.

Deva and the store were the subject of multiple books and documentaries over the years.

Update:  A Celebration of Life is planned for Saturday, September 27th, 3:30pm at St. Andrew's-Wesley Venue.  Details can be found here.