Posted on 02/13/2003 6:56:57 AM PST by Notwithstanding
In a ruling given virtually no media coverage, the Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatchewan, ruled that a man who placed references to Bible verses on homosexuality into a newspaper ad was guilty of inciting hatred. The December 11, 2002 decision was in response to an appeal of a 2001 Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (HRC) ruling which ordered both the Saskatoon StarPhoenix newspaper and Hugh Owens of Regina to pay CAN$1,500 to three homosexual activists for publishing an ad in the Saskatoon newspaper quoting Bible verses regarding homosexuality.
The purpose of the ad was to indicate that the Bible says no to homosexual behavior. The advertisement displayed references to four Bible passages: Romans 1, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, on the left side. An equal sign (=) was situated in the middle, with a symbol on the right side. The symbol was comprised of two males holding hands with the universal symbol of a red circle with a diagonal bar superimposed over top.
Justice J. Barclay rejected the appeal ruling: "In my view, the Board was correct in concluding that the advertisement can objectively be seen as exposing homosexuals to hatred or ridicule. When the use of the circle and slash is combined with the passages of the Bible, it exposes homosexuals to detestation, vilification and disgrace. In other words, the Biblical passage which suggests that if a man lies with a man they must be put to death exposes homosexuals to hatred."
Janet Epp Buckingham, Legal Counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, told LifeSite: "The ruling that a verse from the Bible can be considered to expose homosexuals to hatred shows the danger for Scripture if Bill C-250 passes." Bill C-250, proposed by homosexual activist MP Svend Robinson, would see "sexual orientation" added to hate crime law as a prohibited ground of discrimination.
I do. Many Muslim ministers condemn America for its rampant sexual promiscuity (which comes all to no good), its pornography (now in town libraries and on our home computers), its walking away from God, from holiness, etc. etc. They have the same right as I to say what they want. You want to be the speech police. You are a virtual tyrant.
You're counting your few chickens before they hatch there, Luis. Accepting free speech isn't easy. Abusing power to do so is.
You want to bet money on that?
"...abortion is wrong, the Confederate flag shouldn't be flown over state capitols, Boy Scouts should ban homosexual scoutmasters, Catholic priests should be allowed to marry, etc. etc."
You are not making the case in any one of your scenarios that God believes that these people should be put to death for having an abortion, flying the Confederate flag, trying to be a homosexual scout leader, or being a Catholic priest wanting to marry. The ad clearly stated that homosexuals should be put to death for their homosexuality.
Now, go out and start buying newwpaper ads advocating that inter-racial couples should be put to death for fouling up the bloodlines, and see how far freedom of speech takes you.
The second question, if you care to remember, is whether or not you believed that the scriptures allow for men or women to practice homosexuality. You seem to be having trouble answering that question. Speak plainly, man.
You're the thought and speech police, Luis - the speechstapo. Free speech and freedom of religion are guaranteed in my country, Luis. We enshrined those freedoms because of the tyranny we fought against. Our free speech is NOT nor EVER HAS BEEN limited to the pulpit. We do not have to limit our speech to suit a 'community' nor have we ever. Germans in Hitler's 'community' couldn't praise Jews for fear of their life. Russians in Stalin's 'community' couldn't say they believed in God for fear of their lives. Chinese in Ziang Jemin's community can't say they want a free Tibet for fear of their lives. Community standards should not control free speech. My community is heavily Catholic. According to the standards of our community and your bezerkely reasoning, you shouldn't be allowed to swear, to speak up in favor of abortion, to speak up in favor of homosexuality, to speak up in favor of violent video games, etc. etc. You, as well as I, know that such, in this country, which guaratees free speech, would be ridiculous and tyrannical. Community standards cannot trump free speech in our country, because the highest law of the land (the Constitution) guarantees it. You need a civics lesson, and a lesson in true freedom and liberty. You are an opponent of freedom.
No, Luis. The ad clearly states that Leviticus, a book of the Bible, says that.
In the US, I can take out an ad and quote the Bible. In Canada, you cannot always do so. The thugocratic fascistic liberal PC Canadian government wants to prevent people from quoting the Bible in public. That is tyranny. You feel very comfortable with that, because you feel you should have the right to proscribe what other people say (or whether they should quote the Bible in public). Thank heavens the founders of our country were of a wiser and less dictatorial nature.
I never claimed it had anything to do with the debate at hand. I simply want to know whether or not you believe that the scriptures allow for men or women to practice homosexuality. A simple yes, or no, would suffice.
Really. Learn to read. I said combined with graphics Does your bible have the graphics? . The graphics that the purchaser added with the intent of inciting a negative reaction towards homosexuals. Without the graphics the ad does not make the same point. All it would be would be verses from the bible. Which are printed and read every day.
The bottom line is the court judged the intent , not the source of the words.
Well, in my children's Catholic schools, they often recite the Lord's prayer. They don't do so in the public shcools, because children of many faiths attend them. I am certainly allowed to take out an ad in the newspaper quoting the Lord's Prayer! I am also allowed, in the US, to stand on the street corner and recite the Lord's prayer. I am allowed to publish books which contain the Lord's prayer. I am allowed to assemble meetings of people in which the Lord's prayer is recited. I am also allowed to take out an ad in the newspaper regarding the sinfulness of homosexual acts, or to stand on a streetcorner and say such, or to publish books saying such, or to assemble with people and say such, or to associate with people who are not homosexual. I am allowed to send my son to a scouting organization whose scoutmasters do not have a sexual attraction to males. I believe you do not have that right in Canada. I'm a much freer man as an American than I would be were I Canadian.
They altered the message, and took it into the public square. Look at what the author of the article did, he sensationalized the issue, and gave it a good spin.
The issue was never the Bible here, it was the intent of the ad.
The Supreme Court has recognized several limited exceptions to First Amendment protection, example:
In Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942), the Court held that so-called "fighting words, which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace," are not protected. This decision was based on the fact that fighting words are of "slight social value as a step to truth."
One could easily argue that this ad fell under the general description of "fighting words"...as it obviously did, otherwise it would not have made its way into Court.
Not really.
You may publish abook about it, but you will not stand in a street corner and do so. It's called slander and defamation of character, plus there's the case cited above.
You may not pass judgement on others based on your religious beliefs in the public square if your words create a public disturbance.
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