The Coroners and Justice Bill passed its Second Reading Debate in the House of Lords on 18 May 2009. In this bill, the Government is seeking to remove the free speech clause from the ‘homosexual hatred’ law in the face of increasing concern about the erosion of free speech in the United Kingdom. Church of England bishops are on a collision course with the Government over these plans, claiming they will stifle what they believe is legitimate criticism of homosexual lifestyles.
A coalition of Anglican bishops, Conservative, Labour and cross-bench peers have united to block the proposals in order to safeguard the freedom of speech in this country.
Andrea Williams, Director of CCFON, commented in The Observer:
‘No reasonable person supports the stirring up of hatred of any kind. However, in 21st-century Britain we must find a way of being able to live peaceably alongside one another allowing for free and robust debate around every aspect of life, including reasonable criticism and discussion of all forms of sexual behaviour.
‘The government seeks to remove this commonsense provision at the behest of the homosexual lobby who do not want to have their sexual practices questioned. We are seeing case after case of Christians being discriminated against because of their biblical views on sexual conduct. It is time to take action before our laws silence any objection to homosexual practice.’
Is it already too late? Hasn’t one set of human rights now replaced the human rights of others? Waltham Forest is just one illustration of legally imposing the gay agenda on 5-year olds with dissenting parents threatened with prosecution. Read about the concerns for the ’Coroners and Justice Bill’ at CCFON:
