The Telegraph reports from London:
Christian preacher arrested for saying homosexuality is a sin.
It couldn't happen here, of course. We have our First Amendment. But I guess it can happen in the UK. Where could it lead, do you suppose?
By Eric Von Salzen
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It'll be interesting to watch the net reaction to this. I think of myself as somewhat "cosmopolitan" in many ways, but this reminds me how US American I am. I have no basic complaint with saying, for example, that a hotel or B&B that's regulated as a place of public accommodation can't discriminate against various classes of people, but the idea that you can't say what you want is pretty much unthinkable.
ReplyDeleteTwo caveats, though: first, there's some vagueness in the article about the law that was broken -- in some places it seems to be more about the reaction to the speech (causing "public disorder") than the speech itself. It's possible the law was misused (or maybe the situation was not as described in the article). Second, this law has been in effect since at least 2002, and has been used very rarely in this way, so we need to be careful not to assume that suddenly there's a zero tolerance policy in effect. Something happened here (from the details of the incident to the personalities of the participants) that caused this to be one of the very few times this law was used in this way. It doesn't mean the former Abp of Canterbury is right about a groundswell of anti-Christian persecution (even if you believe, as he seems to, that anti-gay haranguing is one of the apostolic hallmarks of authentic Christianity).
Point of Order says:
ReplyDeleteI have three words, or perhaps two: Duke Lacrose.
I agree. There is more to this story than has been reported.
It is interesting how we are always quick to ask this question, but are slow to ask about the the fact that it has happened here and much much much worse in relation to lgbt persons. Not to mention Turing in the UK. In relation to lgbt pesons, both the US and the UK have at times been torturing states.
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