Skottland är på väg att införa en »Hate Crime and Public Order Bill«. Det är en lag mot hat- och hets och tar anmärkningsvärt nog ingen hänsyn till uppsåt, förbjuder till och med innehav av material som kan anses kränkande och påbjuder ett straff på upp till sju år i fängelse.
Andrew Doyle riktar svidande kritik mot den nya lagen i The Spectator:
»Scotland’s new Hate Crime and Public Order Bill was ostensibly proposed to repeal outdated proscriptions against blasphemy, but will instead usher in a range of new blasphemy laws by stealth. Most controversially, part two of the Bill pertains to the offence of ‘stirring up hatred’, which criminalises anyone who ‘behaves in a threatening, abusive or insulting manner’ or ‘communicates threatening, abusive or insulting material to another person’.
Moreover, the Bill explicitly allows for intention to be put aside. If behaviour or material is ‘likely’ to stir up hatred against any protected groups (defined by age, disability, racial or ethnic identity, sexual orientation, transgender identity or ‘variations in sex characteristics’) then whether or not the perpetrator intended to do so is immaterial. Even an actor playing a bigoted character could be prosecuted under the proposed laws.«
»The Bill even goes as far as to criminalise the possession of ‘inflammatory’ material, which is why senior Catholic bishops have raised concerns that possession of the Bible could become a criminal offence. Let’s not forget that Leviticus 20:13 calls for the execution of gay men.«
Som synes är lagförslaget allmänt hållet och kan komma att tolkas lite hur som helst. Vilket är ett säkert kännetecken för en dålig lag.
The Spectator: Could possession of the Bible become an offence in Scotland? «