Pierre Trudeau Quotes Today: ‘The state has no right to interfere in the national bedroom’, a key moment for gay rights in Canada
Everett George Klippert was the last person in Canada to be arrested, charged, prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned for being gay. Originally from Kindersley, Saskatchewan, Klippert grew up in Calgary, Alberta. In 1965, he was taken away by the police for questioning on suspicion of arson. He was not involved in the fire, but he admitted to police that he had had consensual homosexual relationships with four different adult men.Klippert was convicted because homosexual acts are classified as “sodomy” and “gross indecency” under Canadian law. He was called a dangerous sex offender. In November 1967, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the life sentence in a polarizing 3-2 decision. Public outcry soon followed. Significant segments of the Canadian public and media are abhorred that a person could be sentenced to life in prison for a voluntary private act.
Pierre Trudeau and the beginnings of gay rights in Canada
Canada’s attorney general was Pierre Trudeau, who later became prime minister and the father of Justin Trudeau. A month after the Supreme Court ruling, Trudeau introduced Bill C-150, also known as the omnibus bill. The bill was passed in 1969, decriminalizing homosexuality.Trudeau spoke these words in 1967, redefining Canada’s political culture and modernizing Canadian social policy in many ways.He said: “There is no doubt that what is done between adults in private does not fall under the Criminal Code. Take the matter of homosexuality … the state has no place in the bedroom of the state.”In 1968, Trudeau became prime minister and served until 1979, then again from 1980 to 1984.Trudeau was a highly educated intellectual and lawyer who sought to formally disentangle the concepts of guilt and crime. In his view, democracies have an obligation to maintain public order and prevent harm, but not to enforce private, religious, or moral uniformity. If an act occurs entirely in private between adults, religious institutions may consider it a crime, but it does not yet meet the threshold of a crime against the state. This marks a profound generational shift in the Canadian government’s role from acting as a moral guardian to acting as a neutral arbiter of individual rights.This quote remains a masterclass in political framing. Trudeau managed to transform a heated debate about morality into a debate about the limits of government power, transforming himself into a modern liberal icon and becoming prime minister a year later.
Trudeaumania
Pierre Trudeau was so popular and charismatic that the term “Trudeaumania” was coined to describe the excitement he injected into politics. Young Canadians at the time were thought to have been smitten by his charm and good looks, and even before he became prime minister, he was often stopped in the street for autographs or photos.
