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Motion to Protect Religious Freedom and Speech Defeated in UK Gay Hate Crimes Bill

By Hilary White

LONDON, January 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Labour controlled British Parliament has rejected a motion that would have afforded Christians and other conscientious objectors legal protection from accusations of hate crimes by homosexual activists.

The Labour party refused to allow its majority MP's the freedom to vote on the amendment. The hate crimes bill moved through its final stages in the House of Commons on January 9.

The proposed "gay hate crimes" law would carry a maximum penalty of seven years in jail for anyone convicted of "inciting hatred" against homosexuals. The motion to amend was introduced by Jim Dobbin, the Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton, who warned that some Catholic and Anglican leaders believed the proposed law would make it impossible to teach or preach Christian moral doctrine on sexuality and marriage without incurring criminal penalties.

The motion was drafted with assistance from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Church of England's Mission and Public Affairs Council. The two Churches made a joint presentation to the Commons Committee drawing a comparison with provisions in the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006:

"In religious hatred debates, both supporters and opponents of the Bill maintain a distinction between protection of people from personal attack, which was agreed to be desirable, and protection of their beliefs and practices from criticism or satire, which was generally thought to be undesirable."

Dobbin, who has chaired the all-party Pro Life Group and is a Catholic, told the House during the debates that a similar distinction should exist in matters related to sexuality.

"Sexual activity and lifestyle, as distinct from sexual orientation, are matters of choice," he said, "and impinge on the public sphere. As such, they are subject to evaluation and criticism and the freedom to discuss them should be preserved."

Dobbin said the Churches fear that the bill "may impinge on their basic freedom to practise their religion."

He added, "We cannot ignore such a serious concern from two important national religious institutions."

The law is regarded as unnecessary and a suppression of freedom of speech even by homosexual activists and some journalists. In the House, Dobbin mentioned homosexual rights activist Peter Tatchell who opposes the bill and has argued that existing laws are adequate to protect homosexuals. Journalists Matthew Parris and Iain Dale, both publicly homosexual, also oppose the bill on free speech grounds.

Nick Herbert, Tory MP for Arundel South Downs, who supports the legislation in general, said, "Such legislation needs very careful drafting." He said the sexual orientation clause limits the act to "intentional acts and threatening words, not merely abusive or insulting words" the bill remains unclear exactly what words and behaviour would constitute an offence. Herbert warned against "clumsy police investigations and the chilling effect of the law."

The bill now moves on to the House of Lords.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Attempt to Defeat "Homophobic Hate Crimes" Legislation Fails in House of Lords
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07011202.html

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