Opens a can of worms doesn’t it. I’d like to know what orfeo thinks of this. He’s always great with legal stuff.

If this guy is charged then every conservative church person who says the same thing in Britain should be charged too. And he no doubt doesn’t have malicious intent, believing he’s doing the right thing according to his interpretation of the bible.

Yes it is a pickle of a question. (to sound like Ned Flanders 🙂 )

I agree – it would be nice to move about freely in life without others assuming we’re sinners, purely on the grounds of sexual orientation. The judge has perhaps reacted extremely in an attempt to counteract the homophobic society we live in. But that can be just as damaging as homophobia. As is common with major societal shifts, this example probably illustrates how the pendulum swings from one side to the other before settling in middle ground. And that can take some time to achieve.

I fall on the camp of needing to rein in free speech. Free speech against organisations and government to critique and bring consciousness is fine.

Speaking without consciousness and putting down groups of people adversely impact people and needs to be reined in. Obviously there is a spectrum from subtle disregard to overt insult and verbal abuse, however, most people are not aware of the impact of their words. No one would argue about the danger of a person wantonly waving a gun aimlessly. However, insulting people or groups aimlessly, that also has as negative an impact I say.

here is a thought……..what the preacher is saying is actually true and false

Homosexuals are sinners……but so are heterosexuals.

and as our gentleman in Adelaide has mentioned……what about the damage that a message of error causes. On whose hands is the blood of those who have taken their lives.

But avb, the preacher said “homosexuality is a sin”…the truth is homosexuals, heterosexuals, bi-sexuals, asexuals…whatever-sexuals are sinners, we all are….but homosexuality as an orientation isn’t a sin. The law clearly says he hasn’t the right to say that, and because the law also says other things too, impinging on our freedom of speech,, perhaps the law needs to change hehe.