What an enlightened program on the part of the Edmonton police dept.

Good story, redsoxbreath. Thanks for sharing it. I live just a few hours south of Edmonton, but you heard about it before I did!

Here in Calgary, the otherwise good relationship between the gay community and the the police suffered a setback after a bath-house raid last year, although there is a liaison committee to address this and other concerns. Perhaps that committee should recommend our cops do the same as what they did in Edmonton.

Those Canadians are so progressive. We should violently conquer their country and make them one of our states.

Heck, I've done that on vacation in Ptown! eek!

Rock on. It's so good to see the kind of progress that can be made, dispite the stuff that make you feel like we're getting nowhere.

Thanks for sharing dude.

Big kudos to the Edmonton police department and Const. Steve Camp for coming up with this great idea! -- thanks for sharing it with us, RSB....the more I read about all the pro-Human Rights citizens of Canada and their progressive policies in favor of equality the prouder I am of our friends to the North....there is certainly a LOT than many of our American "leaders" could learn from their Canadian contemporaries.

Copman:

Provincetown doesn't count. smile.

Have you tried holding hands inthe downtown area in Cleveland? NOT the gay area of Cleveland, but downtown? grin

Mikestead

I think this program is great - leave it to redsoxbreath to find yet another innovative way folks are trying to combat homophobia. I am sure all of us know what it is like to stop holding hands with a boyfriend because of approaching strangers or other worries when on the street. I have no idea how Edmonton is normally about these things, but even in relatively gay-friendly DC there are only a few places I will openly show affection for another guy.

However, a couple years ago I met someone from NYC who was visiting DC and was shocked to find out his surprise at the amount of same-sex PDA in DC. According to him, there are maybe a couple blocks in Chelsea where you can get away with same-sex PDA, but in most of NYC he was convinced you would be insulted pretty quickly.

I totally know that- I was being facetious- ( SILLY as usual)

CPT Doom--re: "there are maybe a couple blocks in Chelsea where you can get away with same-sex PDA, but in most of NYC he was convinced you would be insulted pretty quickly."

You would not have a problem with it in most neighborhoods in Manhattan. Same-sex PDA is common throughout the East and West Village, Gramercy Park, Soho, Tribeca, and a good many parts of the upper East and West side. And, sure, you may have a random bully make a comment even in the gayest of neighborhoods, but it's nothing like the menace of the past.

Agree with Tom Ford (not THE Tom Ford? )I think PDAs would be fine anywhere in Manhattan south of Harlem, but I would not be comfortable with it in any of the outer boroughs, except maybe Brooklyn Heights or Park Slope. However, no place is completely safe. I live in Chelsea, which has really become clubbing central over the past six months, and two months ago a gay man was gay bashed by a group of presumably straight guys who had just left a straight club down the street as he exited the subway at 23rd & Seventh at 3:00AM.

Wow, that Canada!! They do everything first!

Oh Can-a-da!

Originally posted by CPT_Doom:

Although I don't live in Edmonton, I've been there many times. It is similar in size to Calgary and in the same conservative province of Alberta. There are only a few neighbourhoods and parks in either city where I would feel comfortable holding hands with my boyfriend (if I had one). I'm not saying gay couples get routinely attacked for holding hands in public, but they would certainly cause heads to turn, and risk being subjected to rude comments by some ignorant people. I think this is especially true in the case of male couples. Most of our cities are probably not significantly more tolerant in this regard than Washington DC or most other US cities. There is a greater acceptance in cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, but even there a gay couple shouldn't assume that every neighbourhood is 'safe'.

By the way, can someone fill in this clueless Canuck about the meaning of 'PDA'...several people have used this abbreviation but I have no idea what it means. :confused:

PDA = Public Display of Affection.

Yeah! The word "PDA" makes me think of personal data assistants (the electronic calendar/appointment book gadget)!

Mikestead

Furthermore, the term "same-sex PDA" made me think of gay pornography in these gadgets! That would be nice, if we could view gay porno in our PDAs!

Just kidding, boys! Just kidding!

Mikestead

Thanks for the translation; I'm relieved it doesn't stand for 'pedophile designated area'!

I live in Edmonton, and you would be surprised, but it's a pretty gay-friendly city even though our mayor is a bigot, but most people think he's a moron anyway. Despite Alberta's reputation, Edmonton is a pretty liberal city, I can't comment on Calgary because I haven't been there in a long time. I would say Edmonton is Canada's most blue-collar city, and people for the most part are very friendly, in my experience anyways.