Posted on 10/27/2018 7:48:24 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
Ireland has likely voted to remove a reference to blasphemy as a punishable offense from the countrys constitution, paving the way for repeal of a law that criminalizes public utterances judged offensive to religious sensibilities.
The decision in a referendum on Friday is the latest signal reflecting the countrys weakening adherence to the Catholic Church, which had itself described the constitutional reference as obsolete.
According to an exit poll conducted on behalf of state-owned broadcaster RTE, 71.1% of voters backed the removal of the blasphemy reference, a larger proportion than backed a May proposal to remove a ban on abortion from the constitution, and a 2015 amendment that allowed for same-sex marriage. Official results will come later Saturday.
[Huge snip]
Many European countries retain provisions that allow for prosecution...
Some European countries are slowly removing the offense from their penal codes. While the USCIRF report was being compiled, Denmark and Malta repealed their laws, following similar moves by Norway in 2015, the Netherlands in 2012 and England and Wales in 2008.
More highly religious countries such as Poland and Greece arent expected to remove the offense, while some countriessuch as Germanyview their laws as a way of offering protection to Islam and other minority religions at a time of increased hostility to immigrants. On Friday, the European Court of Human Rights upheld a 2011 verdict by an Austrian court that sentenced an unnamed woman to pay a fine for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Though
identifiable trends point towards the direction of removing restrictions, the absolute disappearance of blasphemy bans on the continent will nevertheless apparently be a long process, if it ever takes place at all, said Andras Koltay, an associate professor of law at Pazmany Peter Catholic University in Budapest. http://outline.com/6q38
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
“Anti-blasphemy” laws ARE politically correct. They dictate that you can’t defame Islam. Haven’t you been paying attention? At all???
Clear thinking people who value individual freedom and free speech are not fans of anti-blasphemy laws. Otherwise known as hate-speech laws. They’re basically the same thing.
But if you like muzzling people’s speech.... I can recommend a few web sites where you’ll feel at home.
No, because an EU court said you can’t criticize Islam, so EU law will trump Irish law.
I have the option for Irish citizenship. I plan on it when I have the time to follow through on the process.
>> Can we demand reparations from the blacks now?
An argument against the idiotic divisiveness?
Let the discussion begin with Freddie King. If there’s any tangible record of blues that precedes him, I’m interested.
Welcome to FR.
A hundred years ago Ireland fought to be Catholic now it fights to be atheistic. My father and his family would weep to see what is happening to their forefathers’ country.
We are from same family as Michael O’Coileain (Michael Collins) so this is extra disappointing.
Right now, a quarter of births in Ireland are to mothers born outside of the country: largely Poles and Balts, and to a smaller extent the Muslims.
The Great Hunger very nearly destroyed Eire as a nationality. It took them another 70 years just to painfully recover enough to achieve 5/6 independence from the bleedin' Brits.
It is nonsense to say they were stronger for being nearly dead.
One can hope.
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