Free speech vote in the House of Lords
Article from the Christian Institute
The House of Lords will vote today on whether a free speech protection should be removed from a controversial law on inciting homophobic hatred.
The protection makes it clear that criticising homosexual practice or urging people to refrain from such conduct is not, in itself, a crime under the incitement offence.
It was added by Parliament when the new incitement law was passed last year.
But the Government says the protection is “unnecessary” and is now attempting to repeal it.
In recent years there have been a number of heavy-handed police investigations against Christians, sparked by complaints to the police of ‘homophobia’.
Christians and others are concerned that without the protection such incidents will become more common.
Mike Judge, Head of Communications at The Christian Institute, said: “In theory, if the protection was removed Christians would remain free to express their beliefs about homosexual practice.
“The law ought only to catch the use of threatening words or behaviour which have the intention of stirring up hatred. No genuine Christian should find themselves falling foul of that.
“But we believe a free speech protection should nevertheless remain attached to the offence to clarify an area of the law which could easily be used as a pretext for silencing Christian views on sexual behaviour.
“Given the level of intimidation faced by Christians on the issue of homosexual practice, an explicit free speech protection is a reasonable approach.”
Tags: Christian Life, Christian Persecution, Church Life, Law, Politics