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UK
Churches call 'safeguards' on gay legislation
03 Dec
2007- Uk- The Church of England has joined forces with the Roman Catholic
Church in calling for safeguards to be included any government plan to change
the Public Order Act of 1986 which would create an offence of ‘incitement to
hatred on grounds of sexual orientation’.
In a memorandum to the
Public Bill Committee on the possible changes to the Criminal Justice and
Immigration Bill, the Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council and
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales expressed reservations on the
creation of new offences and the need to balance the protection of vulnerable
groups with safeguards for freedom of speech.
The document calls for any new laws to allow Christians to express traditional
views on sexuality, and asks for ‘maximum possible clarity’ about what is
forbidden and what is permitted.
It says: “Christians engaged in teaching or preaching and those seeking to act
in accord with Christian convictions in their daily lives need to be assured
that the expression of strong opinions on marriage or sexuality will not be
illegal.”
The memorandum also warns of the possible ‘chilling effect’ on free speech when
there is uncertainty in the law, which could stop people who hold strong
opinions on sexuality from speaking out, for fear of investigation by the
police.
It adds: “We are not encouraged by some examples of over-zealous action by the
police, apparently under current legislation, against Christians who have
publicly expressed traditional views on sexuality.
“We also fear that uncertainty might provoke divisive attempts to test the law,
whether by Christians courting ‘martyrdom’ or anti-Christian groups wishing to
restrict the expression of opinions which they find offensive.”
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