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Members of the Law Society of British Columbia have voted overwhelmingly -- 3,210 to 968 -- to urge their organization to revoke its accreditation for a new law school at Trinity Western University, The Globe and Mail reported. The Canadian Christian institution bars students and faculty members from any sexual relationships outside of heterosexual marriage, and critics have said that Canada's principles of equity should bar recognition of colleges that discriminate against gay people. The issue has been going back and forth in Canadian legal groups for several years, and legal groups in two provinces already have taken action so that they will not recognize Trinity Western graduates as lawyers as long as the university maintains its policies. The law society in British Columbia does not have to follow the recommendations of its membership, but an official said that the executive committee of the association would give the membership vote "serious and thoughtful consideration."
Trinity Western has argued throughout the debate over its law school that the university has a right to have and enforce its own religious views. Bob Kuhn, president of the university, issued a statement after the vote saying, "Difficult decisions involving fundamental rights and freedoms should not be decided by popular opinion.”
