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Réal Ménard, Québec MP for Hochelaga
Réal Ménard (born May 13, 1962) is a Canadian politician, representing the Quebec riding of Hochelaga for the Bloc Québécois.
He was the second Canadian Member of Parliament to come out as gay. (The first was Svend Robinson.)
Ménard's outing in 1994 caught most people by surprise--himself included. It happened right on the floor of the House of Commons. Former Liberal MP and social conservative Roseanne Skoke spoke against legislation to include sexual orientation as a category in a human rights bill, observing that "Homosexuality is not natural, it is immoral and it is undermining the inherent rights and values of our Canadian families and it must not and should not be condoned." Ménard got so angry he stood up and began a tirade of his own, and Robinson demanded she retract her words. Ménard never actually said he was gay, but by the time he was done berating Skoke everyone had pretty much got the message. "I knew I wanted to come out at some point," Ménard says. "I just hadn't planned to do it right then."
Ménard is currently gearing up for yet another vote on gay rights in the next session of the Commons. His private members' bill, which calls for the government to change the definition of "spouse" in all federal laws to include same-sex partnerships (marriage law, tax law, everything), will be debated this fall. "I fully expect it will be put to a vote," he says.
External link
- The exchange in Parliament referred to above (http://www.parl.gc.ca/english/hansard/previous/093_94-09-20/093GO3E.html)