Christian homes need to beware of the hate police
by Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack, The Conservative Woman:
AN Englishman’s home is his castle. In 1763 prime minister Pitt the Elder stated, ‘The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail – its roof may shake – the wind may blow through it – the storm may enter – the rain may enter – but the King of England cannot enter.’ Not so for the Scotsman of today if the separatist SNP have their way.
Humza Yousaf, Justice Secretary in Scotland’s increasingly authoritarian SNP government, intends to clamp down on hate speech within the confines of private homes under his sinister proposed legislation, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill. In ‘hate’ legislation elsewhere in the UK there can be a ‘dwelling defence’ which protects speech within the home from police intervention. Not so for Scotland if Yousaf has his way.
[…] Yousaf’s proposed Hate Speech Bill has met opposition from a broad spectrum of opinion including the National Secular Society, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, the Faculty of Advocates, the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Police Federation. It is rare to find the Catholic Church and the Humanist Society of Scotland lining up alongside each other in the culture war trenches.
This Bill is of deep concern to Christians. Concerning its effect on free speech including preaching, the Free Church of Scotland said: ‘We do not consider the protections to free speech offered in the draft in any way strong enough to prevent a major erosion of this fundamental tenet of a democratic society. Too many people automatically view disagreement as hatred rather than engaging in civilised debate over differing opinions.’
That this alarming legislation is wide open to abuse has already been made clear. In August, Ian Stewart, head of Atheists in Scotland, said that he looked forward to the passing of the Bill, which could be used to ‘enable the prosecution of all Scotland’s religions and their holy books for spreading hatred’.
Please right-click links to open in a new window.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
