3rd July 2010
Now Causing Offence is Illegal in Scotland
Mark Hanson
In a startling escalation of the attack on the rights of British citizens, the Scottish Parliament has outlawed all speech that could, either intentionally or recklessly, cause offence.
The law, passed by 92 votes to 29, makes it a criminal act to, by words alone, cause fear or alarm. The crime is punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
The original proposals were even tighter, but were watered down after objections from civil liberties groups and Christian organisations. Yet even as they stand, the legislation could be used against anyone making an off-hand comment that causes alarm. Given the increased sensibilities of people in this politically-correct environment of the UK, this is a very wide-ranging assault on free speech.
Of further concern is that this “crime” is also applicable in private situations as well as public. Previous restrictions on the spoken and written word have focussed on the public nature of the situation where “speech crimes” take place. The Scottish government has now made it a crime to speak one’s mind in private.
Akin to so many of the restrictions and erosion of civil liberties, this law has a laudable aim: of protecting people from verbal domestic abuse. The pendulum, however, has swung too far. The possibility of 5 years imprisonment for jokes concerning Muslim men’s beards is, surely, a joke in itself, if a hideously bad and totalitarian one.
