Members of the Scottish Parliament have now passed a law by a vote of 82 to 32 that is known as the Hate Crime Bill, which has introduced a brand new crime into their society called “stirring up hatred.” While the legislation introduced this new law, it removes a former ancient law which made blasphemy illegal, though it hasn’t been used in a prosecution for over 175 years.
This is essentially a bill that is designed to control what people are thinking or feeling, something that is ripped right out of the pages of George Orwell’s “1984.” If you don’t think something like this can’t happen here, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, you better think again.
According to Lifesite News, The Hate Crime and Public Order Bill passed last Thursday after a very lengthy debate that raged on for five hours, which also included amendments, was held the day before. Under this new legislation, current “hate crime” laws will be expanded to include new social categories of individuals that are being identified as “vulnerable groups.”
Up until this point, hate crime laws were defined as “behaviour which is both criminal and based on prejudice,” within Scottish law. This covered “disability, race (and related characteristics), religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity.” The new updates made to the law will now cover “age…and allows sex to be added at a later date,” and then brings in the whole “stirring up hatred” bit.
“The Hate Crime Bill was first proposed following an independent review by senior judge Lord Bracadale into the country’s hate crime laws. Bracadale’s review prompted the Scottish government to consolidate existing legislation into one law, but soon received fierce backlash over the vagueness of the language, especially with the addition of “stirring up hatred.” Writers, journalists, religious leaders, and official bodies like the Police Federation of Scotland (SPF) and the Law Society of Scotland criticized the bill for its low threshold for prosecution and perceived contravention of freedom of speech,” Lifesite News reported.
The SPF stated that the bill will have a drastic impact on the relationship between the general public and officers who will basically be “policing what people think or feel.”
Scottish Conservatives, along with a small group of others, were the only members of the MSP to vote against the legislation, citing concerns over freedom of expression.
“We agree that hate crime should be rooted out but the SNP [Scottish National Party, currently in power] should not have allowed a fundamental right to be trampled on in the process,” Liam Kerr, the spokesman for Justice stated. Kerr later went on to slam the bill for being filled with “inherent ambiguity” and “riddled with glaring flaws,” which includes a lack of exemption for the freedom to express beliefs that might be considered hateful in private conversations within the home.
That kind of seems like something important, right?
This bill is incredibly scary. Let’s hope Democrats don’t look to Scotland and jot down a few notes about how to destroy freedom of speech.
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