UK Parliament / Open data

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

My Lords, I shall not interrupt again, but I would like a clear answer to this point. The noble Lord, like his colleagues, repeatedly says that the Bill is about attacking groups of people and not beliefs. In new Section 17A, ““religious hatred”” is defined as,"““hatred against a group of persons defined by reference to religious belief””." If I say, ““I hate that group of people; I hate them; and I hate them because I hate their adherence to a religion that is evil and whose practices are evil””, it seems to me that I must be guilty of an offence. My hatred of the group of persons and my hatred of their beliefs, as the noble Lord, Lord Plant, pointed out, are rolled up together. Why does not the Bill catch that kind of very intemperate criticism of the beliefs linked with the group? I do not understand how it fails to do so.

About this proceeding contribution

Reference

674 c276 

Session

2005-06

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords chamber
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