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Ban the religious and racial hatred bill

Ban the religious and racial hatred bill

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Started by Anonymous 21 years ago
This bill is a serious threat to religious freedom in the UK. There has been freedom to preach the gospel for centuries in Britain, and this freedom is now at risk from a new bill being debated in the House of Commons right now. There are two problems with this bill. First \"religion\" is not defined. There is, therefore, a real prospect that potentially very damaging cults will be protected. The second problem is that \"hatred\" is not defined. The Bill makes it a criminal offence to say anything or distribute literature which is \'likely to be heard or seen by any person in whom it is likely to stir up ... religious hatred.\' That could be anybody. \'Religious hatred\' in the Bill means \'hatred against a group of persons defined by reference to religious belief or lack of religious belief,\' - which must include followers of all other religions, cults, and some secular societies too. The Courts will have wide discretion to interpret such a provision in a way which would criminalize virtually every genuine preacher of the Gospel. This proposed law could be used as a stick by which people can beat their religious opponents. The case of the Christian broadcaster, Premier Radio in London is just the beginning. Briefly, complaints were made about preachers stating on air that salvation can only be found through a relationship with Jesus Christ and that other religions do not lead to God. As a result of these complaints the renewal of Premier Radio\'s broadcasting licence was put in jeopardy. It appears we are now living in situation which is becoming increasingly hostile to the preaching of the Gospel. It is vital that Christians wake up and understand that their privileges and freedoms are in serious danger of being removed. We need to act quickly by writing to our Members of Parliament to get them to vote against this bill and to Charles Clark, the Home Secretary. For those in Telford your MP is David Wright: E-mail David Wright: [email protected] By Letter David Wright MP House of Commons LONDON SW1A 0AA or at his constituency office: David Wright MP 35b High Street Dawley Telford TF4 2EX http://www.davidwrightmp.org.uk/ You should also write to the House of Lords - they\'ve stopped previous bills like this one before. Don\'t let the enemy get his way by not acting quickly. This bill is being debated in the Commons right now - we only have a few days to responD. This electronic petition will be e-mailed to both David Wright and to Charles Clarke on Tuesday 19th July - sign up now. Tell all your friends to sign up too!

Updates

July 17, 2005

The emails I receive about this bill are exhausting but necessary to read. I am spending my evenings documenting the potential risks to religious expression while the opposition remains silent.

3 Comments

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Sarah Townsend
20 years ago Featured

What happened to freedom of speech in this country? Getting ridiculous now.

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Simon Beck
21 years ago Featured

This is going to silence everyone who actually has a faith. You cant just ban people from saying what they believe because someone else gets offended. This is wrong.

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David Patterson
21 years ago Featured

Ridiculous overreach. Who gets to define hate? Definitely not the government. Leave the preachers alone.

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