We read:
"CONTROVERSIAL gun lobbyist Ron Owen is being taken to court by a group of lesbians who allege he has breached the Anti-Discrimination Act by publicly vilifying gay people. The case, set for hearing from Thursday, could have landmark repercussions based on Mr Owen's use of the Bible, the Koran and the Jewish Torah for his defence, along with a "freedom of speech" defence...
Never one to hide his political incorrectness, Mr Owen has sparked controversy over the years for an allegedly anti-gay stance dating to when he was at the forefront of volatile protests against the 1997 national gun buyback scheme, in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre. Back then he sold bumper stickers which said such things as "Register Poofters, not Guns", "Gay Rights. The only rights gays have is the right to die (Lev 20: 13)" and "Animal Vivisection is Cruel - use the morally degenerate instead".
The issue became public in 2005 during his term in council, when fellow councillor Peter Cantrell asked Mr Owen how he could claim to be a champion of the underdog and protector of the downtrodden and still display an anti-gay sticker on his car. Mr Owen's reported reply was: "That's because I probably don't class gays as humans."
Mr Owen said he would strenuously defend himself at this week's Anti-Discrimination Tribunal hearing, relying on the right to free speech as well as ancient scripture which condemns homosexuality. Mr Owen said he would argue in his defence that if religious books expressed a general philosophy with which he agreed then the people who printed, published and distributed those printed words should also be respondents in the case.
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