Homosexuality and Religious Liberty

There have been a notable number of incidents involving the issue of homosexuality and the supression of religious liberty in regards to dissent in regards to homosexuality.

Harry Hammond

Harry Hammond

In October of 2001, a 69 year old street preacher named Harry Hammond from Bournemouth, England was subjected to assault by a angry crowd of 40 people while he proclaimed his Christian views in the town center which included a call to repentance in respect to homosexuality. Mr. Hammond suffered from a type of autism making speaking with others difficult for him. Mr. Hammond was holding a sign bearing the words, "Jesus Gives Peace, Jesus is Alive, Stop Immorality, Stop Homosexuality, Stop Lesbianism, Jesus is Lord".

Two police officers arrived at the scene, there was a disagreement as to whether they should protect him or arrest him and eventually Mr Hammond was arrested but no violent members of the crowd were arrested. At the time there were complaints from homosexuals about the sign which called for repentance in regards to homosexuality.

Subsequently, Harry Hammond was charged and prosecuted and fined under the Public Order Act 1986. Sadly, Mr Hammond later died and despite a posthumous court appeal stating that Mr. Hammond should have the right to freedom of religion and the freedom to express his beliefs, it was ruled that Harry Hammond had acted unreasonably in holding up a sign he knew to be offensive. A further appeal to the European Court of Human Rights was also dismissed.

Eleven Christians Arrested at a Homosexual Event

In 2004, eleven Christians were arrested at a Philadelphia event promoting homosexual-rights and some of the charges were felonies. The Christians were preaching from the Bible regarding homosexuality and a group of homosexual activists confronted the Christians and attempted to drown out their message with whistles. According to the Christians they were obeying all laws and respected lawful request by the police offers at the time. In 2005, after national publicity led to widespread criticism of the arrests (especially the heavy penalties being threatened) a judge dismissed all criminal charges. In 2006, a United States federal judge ruled the group of homosexuals could not dismiss a lawsuit against the homosexual activist group Philly Pride Presents which was brought against them by the Christian protestors.

Other Incidents Involving Homosexuality and the Repression of Religious Liberty

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Pastor Ake Green

WorldNetDaily reported the following regarding various incidents involving homosexuality and the repression of religious liberty:

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Peter LaBarbera, of Americans For Truth, noted that in Canada and France both, legislators have been fined for publicly criticizing homosexuality. Three years ago, a Swedish hate crimes law was used to put Pastor Ake Green, who preached that homosexuality is a sin, in jail for a month. "And recently, a British couple told how they were denied the chance to adopt because it was determined that their Christian faith might 'prejudice' them against a homosexual child put in their care," LaBarbera added. Already in the United States, Catholic Charities of Boston halted all adoption operations in the state after being told under Massachusetts' pro-'gay' nondiscrimination law, only agencies that placed children in homosexual-led households would get licensed by the state.

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