Wed Dec 2 13:39:15 2020
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<8f79fcda> <https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bibles-and-newspapers-would-be-banned-under-new-hate-crime-law-m0wntj3jn|https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bibles-and-newspapers-would-be-banned-under-new-hate-crime-law-m0wntj3jn>
— Bibles and newspapers ‘would be banned under new hate crime law’
— Books, bibles and newspapers would be seized and destroyed under the SNP’s plan to criminalise “inflammatory” publications, religious and secular organisations have warned.An unlikely alliance of
<8f79fcda> Article is Paywalled – text below
Books, bibles and newspapers would be seized and destroyed under the SNP’s plan to criminalise “inflammatory” publications, religious and secular organisations have warned.
An unlikely alliance of chapels, kirks, gurdwaras, humanists, secularists, artists, writers and journalists have united in condemnation of the Scottish government’s Hate Crime Bill.
Only Muslim Engagement and Development (MED), an Islamic rights lobby group, and the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (Scotjec) argued that the bill did not go far enough in the latest round of scrutiny by Holyrood’s justice committee.
The bill as drafted would empower police to seize “forfeited material” to “be disposed of in such manner as the court may direct”. The National Secular Society said in a submission to the committee before parliamentary scrutiny tomorrow that the “draconian and ultimately counterproductive” bill had “dangerously low thresholds for prosecution”.
Extending its defence of free expression to religious leaders who regard same-sex relationships “abominable” and punishable by death, the society said: “While we condemn any organisation, religious or secular, that uses such hateful language about LGBT+ people, we do not believe the correct response is to criminalise such speech.”
The Network of Sikh Organisations said the law would be “weaponised” by “offence archaeologists” digging through published material to have it censored. It said that JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author who has voiced concerns about allowing trans women into female changing rooms, would “face proceedings for her position on transgenderism”.
Scottish Pen, a writers’ collective, said that sensitive subjects would disappear from literature through self-censorship if writers “feel their work and communication is being monitored by the state”. Writers would be “held accountable for how their work is interpreted or misinterpreted by others” and could face seven years in prison, it added.
An open letter signed by the writers Chris Brookmyre and Val Mcdermid, the actors Rowan Atkinson and Elaine C Smith, the playwright Alan Bissett and the chief executives of the Humanist Society of Scotland and Humanists UK, said that the bill was in danger of “stifling freedom of expression, and the ability to articulate or criticise religious and other beliefs”.
The offence of possessing inflammatory material could extend to the Bible and other religious texts, according to the Bishops Conference of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland and the Evangelical Alliance, which represents 4,000 evangelical churches in the UK.
The Free Church, a presbyterian denomination, said its critics “should be free to mock us, ridicule us and insult us”, adding that outspoken ministers would “need to have their lawyer on speed dial to check that their sermon each week does not fall foul of the offence of stirring up hatred”.
It said in its submission: “The right for a warrant to be issued to enter a premise and remove inflammatory material and ultimately destroy it is deeply worrying to us as it could lead to certain books and publications essentially being banned.
“As books are confiscated and destroyed, precedents would develop that would amount to a list of banned books . . . and as Christians we are deeply concerned that the Bible could fall foul of this offence.”
The Bishops Conference, which represents Catholic bishops, said that priests could face prosecution for saying that “a man cannot become a woman”.
“The growth of what some describe as the cancel culture — hunting down those who disagree with prominent orthodoxies with the intention to expunge the non-compliant from public discourse and with callous disregard for their livelihoods is deeply concerning,” it said. “We risk becoming an intolerant, illiberal society.”
The Scottish Newspaper Society said that journalists would face “vexatious” legal actions that could ruin their careers, pointing out that 57 of the 67 journalists accused of phone hacking were cleared in court after years of public condemnation.
The proposal to destroy publications had “echoes of darker times”, alluding to book burning by past authoritarian regimes such as the Nazis, it said. “It would presumably cover back copies of newspapers and magazines . . . while we accept the purpose of this legislation is not to subject someone like JK Rowling or legitimate media organisations to police investigations for expressing, publishing or broadcasting controversial opinions, but we are in little doubt that would be the consequence.”
Humza Yousaf, the Scottish justice secretary, defended his plan to criminalise “insults” last month. He said it would apply only to racist comments and that religious, homophobic, transphobic and ageist abuse would be “aggravators” for other crimes.
Legal experts said that this could create a “hierarchy” of abuse, and called for the section to be removed. However, MED and Scojec said it could be fixed by extending the law to criminalise abuse of religion as well.
Scojec said that Jews were already an ethnic minority, as were Sikhs, and could be defended under plans to criminalise racist insults. However, it said that other religions should be afforded similar protections.
MED said that insults could be “equally detrimental to the lives of victims as physical violence” and must be prosecuted.
The Bishops Conference, which represents Catholic bishops, said that priests could face prosecution for saying that “a man cannot become a woman”.
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