REGINA - Chanting 'homophobia has got to go,' members of Regina's gay community rallied Tuesday at the constituency office of a Conservative MP who made homophobic comments on an old video.
About 60 placard-carrying protesters demanded redress from Tom Lukiwski over anti-gay slurs he made on the 16-year-old video that surfaced last week.
"Obviously something has to happen to Tom Lukiwski, either he be stripped of his duties or he resign,'' said Nathan Markwart with the Gay and Lesbian Community of Regina.
In the tape from 1991, Lukiwski says "There's As and there's Bs. The As are guys like me. The Bs are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit disease.''
The video, released by the Saskatchewan New Democrats, was shot during a party at Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative campaign headquarters when Lukiwski was a provincial Tory.
Lukiwski has since apologized, insisting he is not homophobic and that the comments do not reflect his beliefs then or now.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged in the House of Commons on Monday that Lukiwski's remarks were "completely unacceptable,'' but said the Regina MP has sincerely apologized and the matter is closed.
Markwart disagreed.
"In talking to members of our community (Monday) their sentiments are very clear -- they're frustrated. They're very troubled by the actions of the prime minister,'' said Markwart.
"We demand action, we don't think the issue is closed.''
Markwart noted that just three years ago Lukiwski told the Commons that legalizing same-sex marriage could lead to polygamy and social decline. He also pointed out that Lukiwski's predecessor, Larry Spencer, was booted from the Conservative caucus after he said homosexuality should be outlawed.
Markwart also said Lukiwski still needs to answer to his Regina constituents, adding that the gay group has yet to receive a phone call or a letter from the MP.
But the community wants to hear more than just words, said Rick Pollard with the Regina Pride Committee.
"Apologies are all well and good, but in the end talk is cheap,'' said Pollard.
"If (Lukiwski) sincerely wants the queer community's forgiveness, he has to demonstrate his willingness to pay some sort of a personal price for the pain that words like that can cause.''
Lukiwski's constituency office was closed Tuesday.
The protesters called for funding for anti-homophobia organizations, asked the federal government to reverse a ban on sexually active gay men donating blood or organs and urged the Saskatchewan government to end homophobic bullying in schools.
But in the midst of seriousness in their message, they also tried to put a positive spin on Lukiwksi's remarks.
The coalition of groups at the rally have started calling themselves 'the B-Team.'
"What we're saying is if an A person casts people out ... makes everyone else an outsider that isn't exactly like them and perpetuates prejudice then we don't want to be A,'' said Markwart.
"In fact we're proud to be B. We'd rather be B."
