Jim Davidson was axed from Celebrity Hell's Kitchen for branding Brian Dowling a 'shirt-lifter'
Posted on 10/08/2007 11:16:26 AM PDT by Stoat
The Government is to make it a crime to incite hatred against gay people, Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced tonight.
The move to outlaw inciting homophobic hatred comes after ministers moved to criminalise such activity on religious grounds earlier this year.
Today's announcement could cause a row over free speech, as the Government experienced over the religious hate crime measures.
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Jim Davidson was axed from Celebrity Hell's Kitchen for branding Brian Dowling a 'shirt-lifter'
Mr Straw said: "It is a measure of how far we have come as a society in the last 10 years that we are now appalled by hatred and invective directed at people on the basis of their sexuality.
"It is time for the law to recognise this."
He said it would cover gay men, lesbians and bisexual people.
The move comes a month after Comedian Jim Davidson was axed from ITV's celebrity cooking show Hell's Kitchen for insulting homosexuals.
The 53-year-old controversial entertainer was asked to leave by programme-makers for homophobic comments, which saw him brand gay men "shirtlifters".
Davidson left the nightly reality show after a series of rows with former Big Brother winner Brian Dowling, who is openly gay.
And earlier this week a group of firemen who shone their torches at four men engaged in illegal 'dogging' were demoted and fined £1,000 by their bosses after being accused of being homophobic.
Today Jack Straw said he would listen to views on whether the incitement offence should be further extended to cover hatred against disabled and transgendered people, and would proceed "if a case can be made".
Jack Straw: It is a measure of how far we have come as a society
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The presumption will be that the authorities will disclose information if they consider that an offender presents a risk of serious harm to a child."
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: "We are committed to protecting children from sexual predators and the proposals being laid out today will strengthen that protection.
"The UK already has the strongest restrictions on child sex offenders and these proposals which follow on from the publication of the Child Sex Offenders Review earlier this year will help us to continue doing all we can to protect them."
Mr Straw told MPs the moves would be made as amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill.
In a further amendment, criminals on the sex offenders register will be required to provide extra information to the police, including information about email addresses, about new relationships with any woman who has children, and whether they are living in the same house as anyone under 18.
The law against inciting religious hatred came into force at the start of this month.
It closed a gap in race legislation that meant only Jews and Sikhs, who were deemed by the courts to be racial groups, were protected.
Other groups like Muslims and Christians were considered to be religious rather than racial so were thought not to have the same protection under the law.
Anyone convicted of the offence, which follows the introduction of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act, faces up to seven years in jail.
The penalties for inciting sexual hatred are likely to be the same.
When first proposed the religious hate crime legislation was heavily criticised by some groups who believed it could outlaw people such as comedians making jokes at religion's expense.
Blackadder and Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson was among those who warned that such measures risked undermining the freedom of satirists, comedians and writers, and legitimate discussion about religion and religious practices.
There were two attempts by the Government to introduce it, first in 2001 and then later with the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act. They faltered because of the concerns.
But ministers pressed for the law a third time because it was seen as an important counter-balance to anti-terror laws which can be seen to disproportionately target Britain's Muslim population.
On the new anti-homophobia move, a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The new law would not prohibit criticism of gay, lesbian and bisexual people, but it would protect them from incitement to hatred against them because of their sexual orientation."
Gay equality group Stonewall welcomed the news.
The organisation's chief executive, Ben Summerskill, said: "We're delighted.
"We've worked tirelessly over the last six months, seeking to persuade Ministers to match existing race incitement laws with identical protections for sexual orientation.
"A new offence will help deter extremists who stir up hatred against lesbian and gay people.
"These protections aren't about preventing people expressing their religious views in a temperate way.
"However, we refuse to accept any longer that there's no connection between extreme rap lyrics calling for gay people to be attacked or fundamentalist claims that all gay people are paedophiles, and the epidemic of anti-gay violence disfiguring Britain's streets.
"We anticipate, as always, a tough battle with our traditional opponents in the House of Lords but remain determined to secure complete equality in the criminal law."
All kidding aside: this is a dangerous development in the extreme. The concept of "thought crime" - the criminalization of motive rather than actual wrongdoing - is tyrannical.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
It was Jack Straw who suggested that the moslem women not cover their faces when they had a meeting with him...
What came of that?
I don’t find it “funny” at all.
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Don’t say “whole hog”, you’ll offend the Muslims.
There’s nothing “Great” about Britain anymore.
I’m glad you noticed that since I said it on purpose!
That place is dead.
The Muslims will pick the corpse.
Doesn’t the queen have the power to dissolve Parliament for this kind of idiocy?
Evidently things on Airstrip One have gone from bad to doubleplusungood.
Old episodes of The Benny Hills Show and Monty Python’s Flying Circus are now on the State’s ‘forbidden’ list I guess.
Orwell would still find plenty to write about Stalinism in the UK.
I’m speechless.
The Monarchy Today Queen and State Queen and Government Queen in Parliament
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"In addition to opening Parliament, only The Queen can summon Parliament, and prorogue (discontinue without dissolving it) or dissolve it.
When a Prime Minister wishes to dissolve Parliament and call a general election, he or she is obliged to seek the permission of the Sovereign to do so. For this purpose, the Prime Minister usually travels to Buckingham Palace before announcing a general election. Since the Parliament Act of 1911, the life of the United Kingdom Parliament extends to five years, unless dissolved sooner by the Sovereign at the request of the Prime Minister.
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ping
That is double plus ungood.
What is truly sobering (downright frightening, I think) about what is happening in Western Europe is the pincer movement advance of Stalinism on one side and radical Islam on the other. Where they meet will redefine the word “cataclysm”.
I think gays are........... gay. There, I said it.
Inquiring minds want to know......
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