Freedom of Speech in the UK

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Originally Posted by gloomyDAY

As much as I despise religion, McAlpine should still be able to express his opinion. If he wants to believe in the Old and New Book of Fairytales, then no one should be able to oppress the "street preacher". If it can happen to him, then it can happen to you.

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Indeed. The thing is, though, he wasn't expressing his opinion. It's a fact that homosexuality is a sin, according to his (and other) religions.

I don't for a moment agree that homosexuality is wrong at all.

Perhaps it was something to do with how he was getting his message across, but I can't understand on what grounds he was detained.

Having said all that, my emotional reaction is that I don't care what happens to such a bigot, as there are far more important things to worry about.

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Originally Posted by Mr Jan Yeo

Meh, if someone told me that my sexuality was a sin and I was going to hell then I don't think that locking them up would be over the top, it's about time that preachers were given a bit of stick for forcing the 'WORD OF GOD' (yeah right) on us all.

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So anybody can say what they want as long as they agree with you?

Even as an atheist and supporter of gay rights I can see no justification for detaining this man. It should be of no concern to the police unless he was being abusive or inciting violence, which as far as I can gather, he wasn't.

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Originally Posted by anthonyvop

So anybody can say what they want as long as they agree with you?

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:confused: ?????? People can say what they want to whomever they want, just they should expect some people to react sometimes. This preacher basically said that the copper was going to hell, not a lot of people like to hear that from a stranger. Free speech does not mean that you can say anything to anyone and expect them to listen and smile at you while you insult them.

I'm not particularly 'free speech' or anything orientated but I am tired of people spouting hate and then hiding behind religious texts which were probably just written by other haters hundreds of years ago.

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Originally Posted by Mr Jan Yeo

: Free speech does not mean that you can say anything to anyone and expect them to listen and smile at you while you insult them.

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Actually it is exactly what it means.

Protection of free speech does not mean the protection of popular ideas. It is for un-popular speech.

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Originally Posted by anthonyvop

Actually it is exactly what it means.

Protection of free speech does not mean the protection of popular ideas. It is for un-popular speech.

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So if someone walked up to you in the street and called you a stupid c**t you'd say thank you? people can't just say anything and not expect repercussions. Now the fact that this man was locked up is probably an abuse of power and OTT, but 'free speech' cannot be a defence to a crime. If matey committed an offence under the Public Order Act then he should be accountable for it, religion is not a barrier to hide behind.

Here's a few quotes from the article:

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The Public Order Act, which outlaws the unreasonable use of abusive language likely to cause distress, has been used to arrest religious people in a number of similar cases.

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Mr McAlpine replied: “It’s still a sin.”

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If I outwardly said to a police officer (or even a plastic PC like this one) that he was a sinner then I'd expect a reaction of some kind.

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Originally Posted by anthonyvop

Actually it is exactly what it means.

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Nice one.

I've got some choice Italian phrases guaranteed to cause offence.

Can I have your mothers phone number?

After all, it's my right to insult her, so refusing to allow me to do so is a gross violation of my freedom of speech.

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Originally Posted by tamburello

Nice one.

I've got some choice Italian phrases guaranteed to cause offence.

Can I have your mothers phone number?

After all, it's my right to insult her, so refusing to allow me to do so is a gross violation of my freedom of speech.

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Ringing someone with the express intetion of using phrases guaranteed to cause them offence is not the same thing as this.

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Originally Posted by tamburello

Nice one.

I've got some choice Italian phrases guaranteed to cause offence.

Can I have your mothers phone number?

After all, it's my right to insult her, so refusing to allow me to do so is a gross violation of my freedom of speech.

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I don't think we're talking about outright insults, but an expression of opinion, even if someone else finds it to be insulting. A good example is the KKK. They are allowed to express their opinion about Christianity and their hate for minorities (something I find insulting because I'm nowhere near a shade of white), but it is their fundamental right to express that opinion.

Take that away and it's a snowball effect, which eventually leads to sealing your mouth too.

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Originally Posted by BeansBeansBeans

Ringing someone with the express intetion of using phrases guaranteed to cause them offence is not the same thing as this.

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According to our Florida reporter it is.