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TORONTO, September 23, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “Atheists should be aware that the House of Commons forgot about them when it passed Svend Robinson’s Bill C-250,” warned Catholic Civil Rights League President Tom Langan. “The amendment made at third reading added protection for opinions based on belief in religious texts, but no defence was provided for citizens who may object to homosexual conduct for non-religious reasons.”  The most worrisome part of the law, however, is the section that was not touched by the third reading amendment.  “There is no defence to what is called ‘public incitement of hatred’,” said Langan. “What we are concerned about is that people have been repeatedly vilified as ‘hatemongers’ and accused of inciting violence against the homosexually active, just for speaking out against homosexual conduct. These people may now be threatened with criminal prosecution.”  Langan points out that the hate propaganda sections of the Criminal Code have rarely been used since they were enacted, so there has been little opportunity to identify problematic parts of the law. That is now likely to change, given continual claims that opposition to homosexual conduct is equivalent to perpetuating hatred and violence.  See Catholic Civil Rights League website https://www.ccrl.ca/