Commentary The B.C. Law Society’s trade journal, The Advocate, is caught in the jaws of a disagreement between transgender advocates and court authorities, and those who favour traditional pronouns. At stake is The Advocate’s integrity as a forum of free discussion. The journal had planned to publish competing viewpoints about a recent change in court procedure concerning gender pronouns. Word got out, and The Advocate, now in its 79th year, found itself threatened with human rights action and told that the pronoun issue was “not a topic that is open to debate.” That’s an odd thing to tell a respected journal of the law, which feeds on argument and debate. But such is the zeitgeist: Newspapers face similar pressures. It all began when the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association formed a committee to deal with inclusion. At issue for the committee was the protocol for lawyers identifying themselves and their …