Is this where Australia is headed?
The two articles below, both on proposed legislative changes in Canada, could affect Australia as well
By Steve Jordahl, correspondent, Focus on the Family USA
The Bible could soon be considered hate speech in Canada under a proposed law, C-250, passed last week by the House of Commons. C-250 would add sexual orientation to the list of protected classes in the hate propaganda sections of Canada's Criminal Code.
"The practice of the courts has already determined that religious rights are trumped by gay rights," said Derek Rogusky, a vice president at Focus on the Family Canada. "Canadians recognize that (C-250) could restrict the freedom of expression of religious views regarding homosexual behavior - including those of the Christian Bible, the Muslim Koran and Jewish Torah."
The problem goes deeper than the proposed law. Activist Canadian courts already have held that public display of Scriptures that speak against homosexuality is hate speech and thereby forbidden. Earlier this year, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission levied a $4,500 fine against Hugh Owens, a Christian businessman in Saskatoon, Sask., for a newspaper ad that listed four Biblical passages condemning homosexual behavior - Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, Romans 1:26 and I Corinthians 6:9, according to Brian Rushfeldt of the Canada Family Action Coalition.
"Several courts in Canada . . . already have set a trend where they have simply trampled on religious rights in favor of homosexual rights," Rushfeldt said. The impending law is sure to have a chilling effect on pastors caught between the laws of men and the law of God. "I am very, very convinced that, having watched the trend with our Canadian activist courts, that we will have pastors who will be accused of promoting or inciting hatred," Rushfeldt said.
Canada isn't the only country where the gay lobby is influencing the courts. Author and theologian Millard Erickson said a vocal minority also sways U.S. judges. "The gay community exercises political influence out of all proportion to their size," Erickson said.
While the cultural battle in the United States is being waged in earnest, few realize that the Church's ability to speak truth is a potential casualty of the war. "What usually happens," Erickson said, "is Christians are in a slumber until a law has been passed and there is a serious predicament, and then (they ask), 'What are we going to do about it, now?' I think we need to be looking far out."
The Canadian bill now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. Canadians, however, are hoping to vote on a new Parliament in November; if the legislation has not passed by then, it will die.
For More information: The Focus on the Family Canada Web site has more information on Bill C-250.
(Citizen Link, 22 September 2003)
Canadian Christian leaders say the country is on the verge of "criminalizing" the Bible as "hate speech" after legislators recently added sexual orientation to Canada's genocide and hate crimes legislation. The House of Commons has voted 143-110 in favour of the proposal by openly gay legislator Svend Robinson.
If Canada's Senate adopts the bill, "gay-bashing" will be added to the hate crimes law. Canadian Christians are concerned that homosexual activists would use the law to go after pastors and ministry leaders who quote anti-gay passages from the Bible. "Canadians who are speaking out against the redefinition of marriage are already being accused of 'hate speech' by homosexual activists," Brian Rushfeldt, executive director of Canada Family Action Coalition, said.
Canada has already targeted Christians for publishing ads in newspapers that quote what the Bible says about homosexuality, according to Traditional Values Coalition (TVC), headed by the Rev. Lou Sheldon. "Canada's coming problems are a glimpse of what we [in the United States] will soon face if we do not aggressively fight the homosexual movement," TVC officials said. "U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy is pushing for passage of a hate crimes law in the Senate that will be as dangerous to religious freedom here as this bill is in Canada."
(Charisma News Service, October 2003)
Family Update, November-December 2003, p. 4