From: seangabb@hotmail.com
NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LIBERTARIAN ALLIANCE
In Association with the Libertarian International
Release Date: 9th August 2004
Release Time: Immediate
Contact Details: Sean Gabb, 07956 472 199, sean@libertarian.co.uk
Chris R. Tame, 07957 644 519, chris@libertarian.co.uk
Release url: http://www.libertarian.co.uk/news/nr021.htm
"POLITICALLY CORRECT JUSTICE DENIES FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND WORSHIP", SAYS FREE
MARKET AND CIVIL LIBERTIES THINK TANK
The imprisonment of A Christian preacher in Sweden for offending homosexuals
is a sinister attack on freedom of speech and freedom of worship, says the
Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties think tank
and pressure group.
The Facts
Ake Green is pastor of a Pentecostal congregation in Sweden. In 1993, he
preached a sermon during which he referred to homosexuality as "abnormal, a
horrible cancerous tumour in the body of society." He also quoted some of the
standard biblical
injunctions against homosexuality. He was denounced to the authorities and
charged under a 2002 law which makes it a criminal offence to say rude things
about any of the usual privileged groups - that is, women, non-whites,
non-Christians, homosexuals
and so forth. He stood trial in January this year, and was at the end of July
sentenced to imprisonment for one month
Comment
Libertarian Alliance Director of Communications, Dr Sean Gabb commented:
"We believe in the right to freedom of speech. This includes, though is not
limited to, the right to say anything about public policy or alleged matters
of fact. If someone wants to say that homosexuals are the spawn of Satan, or
that black people are
morally or genetically inferior to whites, or that the holocaust did not
happen (but should have), or that the Prophet Mohammed was a demon-possessed,
epileptic paedophile, that is his right. If he causes offence, hard luck on
those offended. They have
no right to legal protection against such views.
"The libertarian position of homosexuality is equally predicable. We believe
that consenting adults have the right to do as they please without
intervention by the law. Speaking personally, I was an advocate at school in
the 1970s of abolishing all the
laws against homosexual activity. In 1991, I wrote the first account of the
"Spanner" case - in which 15 men were prosecuted for consensual
ado-masochism: one of them was convicted of "aiding and abetting an assault on
himself"!. This has also been
called the best account of the case. But freedom for homosexuals does not mean
legal privilege against the hatred and contempt that others - however unjustly
- may feel for them."
The Swedish authorities tried to defend this act of persecution on the grounds
that Pastor Green had committed the crime of "hate speech". Dr Gabb added:
"'Hate speech' means any statement that gives offence to the Establishment -
that is, to the network of politicians, bureaucrats, educators, together with
their friends and clients in the media and big business, who gain wealth,
power and status from an
enlarged, activist state. Officially, Europe is an area within which the
traditional freedoms of thought and belief and speech and association are
solidly protected. The various human rights groups generally feel obliged to
look to other parts of the
world for gross abuses of right. Otherwise, they tend to complain about petty
discrimination against non-whites. Here is as gross an abuse of the right to
free expression as can be imagined. A man is sent to prison for stating what
is the orthodox
position of all Christian churches, and for quoting from The Bible. And this
happens in what amounts to a media blackout. But it was not really censorship
or persecution, the answer will come back. This was really just "hate speech".
Freedom of speech is
only violated when someone is attacked for saying things with which the
Establishment agrees. Anything else is fair game for the police."
The Libertarian Alliance advocates the following with regard to freedom of
speech:
* No controls of any kind on the expression of opinion on matters of public
policy;
* The repeal of all laws that make it illegal to express opinions on matters
of race, religion, sexuality, or any similar matter;
* The repeal of all laws against discrimination and incitement to
discrimination on any grounds whatever;
* The abolition of the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities
Commission, and all similar bodies;
* The cutting off of all tax-payer funding for any group that disagrees with
the above.
END OF COPY
Note to Editors
Dr Sean Gabb is the Director of Communications for the Libertarian Alliance
and edits its journal “Free Life”. His latest book, "War and the National
Interest: Arguments for a British Foreign Policy", is available at
.
His other books are available from Hampden Press at
He can be contacted for further comment on 07956 472 199 or by email at
sean@libertarian.co.uk
Extended Contact Details:
The Libertarian Alliance is Britain’s most radical free market and civil
liberties policy institute. It has published over 700 articles, pamphlets and
books in support of freedom and against statism in all its forms. These are
freely available at
Our postal address is
The Libertarian Alliance
Suite 35
2 Landsdowne Row
Mayfair
London
W1J 6HL
Tel: 0870 242 1712
Associated Organisations
The Libertarian International - - is a sister
organisation to the Libertarian Alliance. Its mission is to coordinate various
initiatives in the defence of individual liberty throughout the world.
Sean Gabb's personal website - - contains about a
million words of writings on themes interesting to libertarians and
conservatives
Liberalia - - maintained by by LA Executive member
Christian Michel, Liberalia publishes in-depth papers in French and English on
libertarianism and free enterprise. It is a prime source of documentation on
these issues for
students and scholars.
Libertarian Samizdata - - works in association with
the Libertarian Alliance and has an ever larger following. Check it out.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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