Nichola Sturgeon bans free speech

I don't think clamping down on hate speech can be considered banning free speech.

She wouldn’t have been able to ban it all on her own.

When it suits ?

She wouldn't be the first. I think it's been banned on most online forums for a while...

If you are planning on stirring up hatred it could cramp your style, but you can still express your opinions. Free speech already requires you to avoid verbal abuse and slander.

"The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill was first introduced last April in response to an independent review of Scotland's hate crime laws by Lord Bracadale, but has sparked fierce debate.

Under the bill, offences are considered "aggravated" - which could influence sentencing - if they involve prejudice on the basis of age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or variations in sex characteristics (sometimes described as "intersex" physical or biological characteristics).

It also creates new offences of "stirring up hatred" - which previously applied only to race - and abolishes the offence of blasphemy which has not been prosecuted in Scotland for more than 175 years.

An earlier draft of the bill was criticised by the Law Society of Scotland for having a perceived low threshold for prosecution.

A number of groups including religious and cultural groups, writers, journalists, campaigners and police raised concerns about its impact on free expression.

The Scottish government responded by modifying the wording and strengthening freedom of expression provisions.

The changes meant "stirring up hatred" would only be considered an offence if it was intentional.

On Wednesday, two amendments designed to further strengthen the protection of free speech were passed unanimously by MSPs.

During the final debate on Thursday, Humza Yousaf argued that those provisions were strong enough to prevent criminalisation.

He said: "To those who think they may accidentally somehow fall foul of the law... because they believe sex is immutable, or they believe an adult man cannot become a female or they campaign for the rights of Palestinians... or those that proselytise that same-sex relationships are sinful, none of these people would fall foul of the stirring up of hatred offence for solely stating their belief - even if they did so in a robust manner.

"Why? Because solely stating any belief, which I accept may be offensive to some, is not breaching the criminal threshold.

"This bill makes clear that we are listening to the victims of hate crime."

Just heard it on Youtube, it said banning free speech.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BAzlyVvPkA

CraftyGranny

Just heard it on Youtube, it said banning free speech.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BAzlyVvPkA

With all due respect your Youtube source is BS. Unless you've read and understood the Bill itself posting that it's a ban of free speech is ridiculous.

NellG that made me laugh out loud. I've started to watch the YouTube video but I just got to the bit where the presenter has said that Nicola Sturgeon is quite close to the Iranian clerics. ? I'm guessing its not entirely trustworthy.....

I mean... FFS... eh?

NellG
??

If it's on YouTube it must be true! ??

Well, I watched a bit of the video CG and it is blatantly nonsense. I take it that your comment about GN’s “lovely Scottish friends” is a joke.
Oh no, wait. My OH is on the phone to Hatecrime Line to report me for calling him an old duffer which according to YouTube man is a crime against age. I will need to do a runner before they arrive.

Freedom of speech insidiously being taken away from us.
This is no surprise to me.

Too late! Parsley has been handcuffed and taken away and
Mr Parsley will now have to make his own supper ( serves him right)?
You’ll be up in front of the beak on the morrow, please resist calling him a silly old duffer or it will be HMP Thistledoo for you .Your GN pals will put in a good word for you if you like.

I wish I’d seen this thread earlier in the day. The OP is right, although perhaps a little short in explaining the law being passed?

There is a very similar bill being passed in English parliament as well, which is genuinely very disturbing. You can read one commentator’s view here. Priti Patel is not a good person. Our freedoms that our fathers fought for are being taken away bit by bit..

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2021/03/12/being-seriously-annoying-is-soon-going-to-be-punishable-by-ten-years-in-prison-in-the-uk-welcome-to-the-fascist-state/

What an obviously fake news heading to this thread.

I am currently watching a documentary about a young woman who was driven to the point of suicide because of the hate speech and trolling she experienced on line and in the media ( yes, another one, not MM).

Are people saying it's OK to let that continue, and that people can be hounded to death by hatred as long as it protects peoples right to say what they like?

I dont think that would be covered by the bill Nell, havent they excluded misogyny. I may be mixing it up with the law elsewhere however. Unless the trolling was for another protected characteristic.

They couldnt include misogyny the system would collapse.

We haven’t had freedom of speech since Adam was a boy. Just changes according to the whim of the day. What is one man’s hate speech is another man’s political viewpoint. It can be very offensive to say certain things in one country but not in another. I have come across this loads of times and the thing is from one country you are not always aware that it is considered offensive in another. Similar to looking people in the face- very offensive in some places if you don’t know the person you are looking at.

Galaxy true, but I was illustrating an effect of hate speech rather than an aspect of the bill itself. You are right about misogyny though, the system would collapse.

Nanna8 Perhaps the solution is for people to just be decent and civil and do/say as they would be done by and if the follow the 'when in Rome' principle they should manage not to fall foul of most laws.

Our freedoms that our fathers fought for are being taken away bit by bit..

If you are being serious, PembsPaul, I agree.

Most people won't take this seriously until it is too late.

But what is decent and civil in the uk is not the same elsewhere. That is my point.

You’ve said it Craftygran.....This is unbelievable!