Hallelujah. Free speech continues (in its rather diluted form) here in the UK.Ironically, it was the undemocratic House of Lords which came through for the retention of freedom against the depredations of The Commons.
The stronger laws agains 'gay hatred' contained a clause which permitted the concept of 'free speech' to be usable as a defence if prosecuted. Almost unbelievably, Straw and co wanted this removed. If anybody advocates violence or malice against anybody - laws are perfectly adequate to deal with this.
Let us put this in context. It is still legal (for the moment) to be allowed to criticise immigration's bad effects and the policy behind it. Anybody advocating unlawful action against immigrants will rightly be dealt with in the courts.
What this egregious piece of legislating would have done was to have criminalised those who attack the moral base of homosexual practice. In other words, evangelical churches would have been made a legal target.
For some apologists for this law to claim that 'it opens the door for attacks on homosexuals' is disingenuous, puerile and malice in its purest form.
Let me be unequivocal. Anybody promoting any illegal act against any member of our society should be punished! This was something different altogether and with a warning attached. Our democracy is diminishing; is under long term threat and the oligarchy we are producing - aided by Brussels - must be challenged at every step and stage!
