Swedish Pastor Beats "Hate Crime" Rap

[Paul Diamond]

 A pattern is developing; there are now three major cases in Europe: one in 
The Netherlands, 'Hammond' in the United Kingdom and 'Green' in Sweden.

The pattern is thus:-

1.  This law is introduced as necessary to protect 'selected' groups from 
phobic 'gangs' and there are effective legal safeguards.

2.  All 3 cases in Europe have involved Christian preachers or politicians; 
all individuals of good character and law abiding.  Both Mr. Hammond and Mr. 
Green were elderly citizens.

3.  All three classified homosexuality as a 'sin', but were Biblical (if 
crude), but with no incitement to violence or 'fighting words'.

4.  All 3 faced the full force of the law (without mercy) with the usual 
moralising.  The States in question rarely take any measures against the 
disgraceful anti-Semitic rhetoric and anti- homosexual rhetoric arising from 
other religious communities.  Anti-American racism appears to be encouraged 
by the political elites.

5.  It is simply an overt attempt to weaken Judeo Christian morality for a 
new social order.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Maule" <Maule at law.villanova.edu>
To: <religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 9:49 PM
Subject: Re: Swedish Pastor Beats "Hate Crime" Rap


> "But beating the drum of hate leads to disasters....."
>
> True.
>
> But what does beating the drum of love, civility, tolerance, patience
> and kindness do?
>
> Hard to tell, as however much happens doesn't seem to get as much
> attention.
>
> Maybe an "equal time for love" legislation?
>
> It's not that hate speech is per se bad. In fact, it helps unmask those
> who hate. It's when hate speech crowds out other speech that the
> disasters begin to fester.
>
> Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Better to hear all
> sides than to drive the noise underground.
>
> Jim Maule
> Villanova University School of Law
>
>>>> stevenjamar at gmail.com 11/29/2005 3:55:59 PM >>>
> Hate speech should be able to be regulated.  The problem is finding
> the right standards and distinguishing between what is to be
> permitted and what banned.  We should be able to enforce some minimal
>
> standards of public decency in our discourse.
>
> But, I have such little confidence in people in power to exercise
> judgment and restraint that I fear the treatment may well be worse
> than the disease.  When the President and Vice-President can call all
>
> dissenters unpatriotic and cowards and seek to silence them by many
> means fair and foul, and when we can torture and abuse prisoners,
> then I fear  that the value of hate speech regulation may well be
> outweighed by its benefits.
>
> But beating the drum of hate leads to disasters such as Nazi Germany,
>
> Rwanda, and the Balkans and crimes against those on the margins
> already and so having some legal means to limit it is appealing.
>
> The decision in Sweden shows that there are limits to such laws, as
> there ought to be.
>
> Steve
>
> On Nov 29, 2005, at 3:42 PM, Ed Brayton wrote:
>
>> Rick Duncan wrote:
>>> This just in from ADF:
>>>
>>> In a unanimous 5-0 decision, Sweden's Supreme Court today
>>> acquitted a pastor of a "hate crime" for presenting the biblical
>>> view of homosexual behavior in a sermon.
>>>
>> Well I certainly hope that we can all, regardless of our religious
>> views or opinions about homosexuality, cheer that decision. You
>> will find no stronger advocate of gay rights than yours truly, but
>> give me freedom above all else, including the freedom to disagree
>> with me. Indeed,  one cannot coherently argue for gay rights
>> without also supporting the right to speak out against
>> homosexuality, whether that is in the US, in Sweden as in this
>> particular case, or in Canada with the Stephen Boissoin case
>> (another minister up on charges for writing an anti-gay letter to a
>
>> newspaper).
>>
>> Ed Brayton
>> _______________________________________________
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> -- 
> Prof. Steven D. Jamar                               vox:  202-806-8017
> Howard University School of Law                     fax:  202-806-8567
> 2900 Van Ness Street NW                   mailto:stevenjamar at gmail.com
>
> Washington, DC  20008   http://www.law.howard.edu/faculty/pages/jamar/
>
>
> "It is by education I learn to do by choice, what other men do by the
>
> constraint of fear."
>
> Aristotle
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> To post, send message to Religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see 
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>
> Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as 
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