Friday, March 01, 2013
Canada’s top court upholds "hate speech" ban
But defines hate speech narrowly
Canada’s top court on Wednesday upheld a ban on hate speech contested by a Christian anti-gay activist, but struck down a section of the law also prohibiting belittling or ridiculing others.
The Supreme Court said in its decision that the hate speech ban “is a reasonable limit on freedom of religion and is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”
“The benefits of the suppression of hate speech and its harmful effects outweigh the detrimental effect of restricting expression which, by its nature, does little to promote the values underlying freedom of expression,” it said.
However the court also found that speech which “ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of (a person or group) does not rise to the level of ardent and extreme feelings constituting hatred.”
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6 comments:
What is seen as hate speech to one, is simply opinion to another. Of course, if you belong to one of the "protected classes", then anything you dislike or disagree with is, hate speech.
Of course "free speech" protection was originally intended for free political speech to prevent a dictatorship, but now is extended to excuse even the most egregious insults. Some religious people also abuse the free-speech right to insult and demean homosexuals and others using the excuse of "religious freedom" as a cover for their mean-spirited bigotry. Those who claim to be "Christian" should look to what Jesus said about self-righteously judging others.
Former Labor leader Mark Latham said this on air last Monday:
"We’re becoming too democratic. The miners make the mining policy, the clubs make the pokies policy, a bunch of blackfellas under a humpy with a hunch of goonys [cask wine bladders], they’ll be in charge of indigenous affairs."
You may ask how he possibly gets away with it, why there is not a national and international uproar. I already told you how, silly. He's a former LABOR leader.
Anon 4:14 - Fred Phelps comes to mind but that man left Christianity behind long ago though people like Anon 3:19 are understandably confused since lunatics like Phelps cling to the Christianity label in a false hope that it legitimizes his hatred.
Those who claim to be "Christian" should look to what Jesus said about self-righteously judging others.
Your solution to too much judging is to judge which speech is permissible and which isn't? You don't really think things thru much beyond the ego fix, do you?
10:04 AM Your response is dumb, as the poster you referred to wasn't offering a "solution" but commenting on what Christ said about judging others and how readily so-called Christians do the opposite. Sounds like you might be such a person.
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