New law in U.K. means anti-gay comments could lead to seven years in jail

[jamesrage]

It looks like talking about and condemning sin is now a crime in Britain.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...d=1770&ito=1490
Stirring up hatred against homosexuals is to become a serious crime punishable with a seven-year jail sentence under a law announced last night.The legislation - similar to laws already in force outlawing persecution on religious or racial grounds - will make criminals of those who express their views in ways that could lead to the bullying or harassment of gays.The maximum sentence is longer than the average of around five years handed to rapists. The announcement widened the rift between opposing supporters of freedom of speech and gay rights.Christian groups condemned it as "a law to allow Christiansto be locked up for what they believe".But the gay pressure group Stonewall said those who disapprove of homosexuals would have nothing to fear from the law if they express their views in a manner that is "temperate" and "polite".Justice Secretary Jack Straw told MPs the gay harassment law will be included as an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill currently going before Parliament, though ministers have yet to decide the wording.Mr Straw said: "It is a measure of how far we have come as a society in the last ten years that we are now appalled by hatred and invective directed at people on the basis of their sexuality."It is time for the law to recognise this."He raised the prospect of extending the law to cover to "transgendered" people and the disabled.The new law aims to catch those who do not explicitly call for attacks or discrimination against homosexuals, as this is covered by existing incitement laws.Instead, police will be allowed to pursue those who create an "atmosphere or climate" in which hatred or bullying can be fostered. Officials said it would not prohibit criticism of gay, lesbian and bisexual people or joke-telling.

 

[Jordan]

Just to tell them that the sin is wrong and we love them enough to give them a warning on what God says is a bit ridiculous. It seems that giving out a warning has becoming more illegal...Lovest ye in Christ Yahshua our Lord and Saviour.

 

[tim_from_pa]

Ya know what? This does not surprise me. I can show a gay person (supporter) scripture after scripture, and they will twist it to mean something else. I even cut and pasted scripture and merged it into my comments to sound like it was coming from me. Then they called me a bigot or whatever. Clearly, they understood me well enough, but when I pointed out that I cut and pasted scripture and confessed that I plagiarized God's word, then "all of a sudden" God's Word did not mean what they clearly understood me as saying! Go figure that so-called logic! They understood me, but when God's word said the same, it meant something else to them.Frankly, I'd have more respect for gays if some would not cloak themselves with the guise of Christianity and downright say that they reject it. But to make such laws, and then claim biblical support shows how twisted they really are more so than a corkscrew.I don't know about Britain, but here in the United States, if I was tried for such a crime, I'd counter sue on the basis that it infringes on my constitutional right to freedom of religion. And if they say that religion is false, then they'd have to throw away the bible, too! And my friend, one cannot change history when our founding fathers based their beliefs on the bible! Plain and indisputably simple.One other thing.... with the Sodom and Gomorrah mentality these days, "look up, for your redemption draweth nigh"

 

[Wakka]

Yeah, well here in Oregon, we might have the same ordeal...I got this today.
Oregon Voters Arise to say "Let Oregonians Vote!"October 9, 2007King City, Oregon - Yesterday marks the fourth time in three years that the People of Oregon sent a message to the Governor, the legislature, the courts, the media, and to those in Portland, Eugene and Corvallis who are determined to use government to make the people of Oregon yield to something they clearly oppose, and do not want.With less than $50,000 in expenses, an all volunteer army of unpaid circulators, no paid professionals and an unsympathetic media, Oregonians produced sufficient signatures to place HB 2007 on the November 2008 ballot only to see their efforts undermined by a highly questionable signature validation process that is often subjectively and arbitrarily applied by both state and county officials.116 Signatures Short?Yesterday the Oregon Elections Division announced the results of that process, having determined that Concerned Oregonians and Defense of Marriage and Family Again, fell 116 signatures short of the required 55,179 valid signatures.Never mind that we turned in nearly 63,000 signatures on the due date. Never mind that they threw out 400 signatures because one individual signed twice. Never mind that in the neighborhood of 20% of the signatures that were rejected were rejected because the reviewer at the county level couldn't quite come to believe the signature on the petition matched the signature on the registration card. Never mind that entire pages of signatures were dismissed because of conflicting information from within the Elections Division during the signature gathering process. Never mind that this petition campaign submitted the cleanest list of signatures in Election Division history. Never mind. We apologize for the misleading information, but we have determined that you were short!The Signature Review System Needs an OverhaulThe issue that is raised by these actions is about far more than the issue of same sex marriage or turning our moral base upside down.It is about the abuse of government in the hands of a few in the governor's office and in the state legislature who disregard the will of the people and the Oregon Constitution to achieve private and personal political goals to satisfy a small but powerful special interest group.It is about a system of signature validation that desperately needs review and overhaul if the people of Oregon are to have any chance to recover their rights and respect for our votes . . . and our signatures.There WILL be a VOTE on these bills!And it is about the good people of Oregon politely - but firmly - pushing back, saying "No, this is not right." The people of Oregon have a right to VOTE on the issues these bills address, especially when the legislature and governor choose to ignore the clear will of the people in Measure 36. And we will!This press release was sent today to nearly 100 news media outlets throughout Oregon and beyond. Please watch your local news and print media to see if there is any reference to it.Concerned OregoniansDavid CroweDirectorClick www.concernedoregonians.com for more information."Impress upon your children the truth that the exercise of the elective franchise is a social duty of as solemn a nature as man can be called to perform; that a man may not innocently trifle with his vote; that every elector is a trustee as well for others as himself and that every measure he supports has an important bearing on the interests of others as well as on his own." Daniel Webster, October 5, 1840Copyright © 2007, Restore America. All Rights Reserved.