From: garym@mcgath.com   
      
   On 11/13/25 10:13 AM, Evelyn C. Leeper wrote:   
   > On 11/13/25 7:10 AM, Gary McGath wrote:   
   >>   
   >> Now we come to the speech rules. Montreal's aren't as bad as some;   
   >> they don't say that anything that anyone takes offense at violates the   
   >> rules. Still, they could make people wary of what they're allowed to   
   >> say, and could in principle lead to unwarranted warnings or expulsions.   
   >>   
   >> "Costumes and clothing may not include racist, sexist, homophobic,   
   >> transphobic, or otherwise prejudiced or bigoted messages or   
   >> sentiments, obscene or offensive language, or images including   
   >> uncensored profanities and pornographic content." This rule is vague   
   >> and could easily be abused. The boundary lines of unconventional   
   >> opinions, prejudiced messages, and humor are often vague. Profanities   
   >> are often part of ordinary language and can appear on shirts without   
   >> causing alarm. Don't wear your "Shit Happens" or "To Hell with   
   >> [whatever]" shirt to the con. Some people will consider a slogan   
   >> supporting Israel bigoted; others will think that one supporting   
   >> Palestine is. The rule's broadness could scare off legitimate   
   >> expression or provide an excuse for banning it.   
   >   
   > Do not forget that Montreal is in Canada, and their free speech laws   
   > differ from those of the US. In specific, Canada has laws restricting   
   > hate speech, obscenity, and defamation. Montreal is, so far as I can   
   > tell, merely trying to incorporate this information in their Code of   
   > Conduct.   
   >   
      
   I don't know much about Canada's speech laws, but what I can find   
   doesn't suggest that the country has outlawed profanities or merely   
   prejudiced statements. The criminal code includes three areas of   
   "hatred-related" speech offenses: advocating genocide, publicly inciting   
   hatred likely to lead to a breach of the peace, and wilfully promoting   
   hatred. The first two don't apply here. It would be a big stretch for   
   "prejudiced or bigoted" statements in private conversation to be counted   
   as "promoting hatred."   
      
   I just don't think the concom was forced to include this by their   
   lawyers. The language doesn't appear to reflect national or provincial   
   laws, but it is similar to language in other convention codes of   
   conduct, including many in the US.   
      
   --   
   Gary McGath    http://www.mcgath.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)