Keep on rockin' in the Free World

Alternate title: The Freedom of Religion and Expression are dormant in Canada

Too much?

Read this and decide for yourself.

And did you see what I did there with the Canadian artist in the title?

Anyway, money quotes:

A Christian pastor has been given a lifetime ban against uttering anything "disparaging" about gays. Not against anything "hateful", let alone something legally defined as "hate speech". Just anything negative.

So a pastor cannot give a sermon.

But he must give a false sermon; he is positively ordered to renounce his deeply held religious beliefs, and apologize to his tormentor for having those views.

And then that pastor is ordered to declare to his entire city that he has renounced his religious views, even though he has not.

And from a commenter:

-The truth is no defense

-Intent is no defense

-The rules of evidence do not apply

-The precedents in courts do not apply

-Legal jurisdiction does not apply

-The Constitution does not apply; including the Charter

-Consistency and sense do not apply

-Mens rea and Actus rea do not apply

-Burden of proof does not apply

-Canadian law itself does not apply; including the Charter of rights and freedoms

-The Magna Carta and 800 years of legal inheritance does not apply

-Human rights do not apply

-Democracy does not apply

-Sanity does not apply

-The fine country we call Canada.... does not apply

Those in the Star Chamber will pass their judgment on us all and drive out the witches among us.

Welcome to Salem.
May | 06.06.08 - 6:53 pm | #

Here is the letter in question, that appeared in the Red Deer Advocate, a local paper in Alberta.

Now personally, I think publicly crafting an idea of battle between homosexuals and heterosexuals is a very wrong thing to do. I think Christians should be reaching the world with the Gospel, and let the chastening of God do the changing. All beside the point, though. The idea that such writings should not be protected speech is outrageous. And present a very real example for the slippery slope argument that has been employed against "Hate Crime" legislation since the beginning.

ht: jlf lr