評論
打印
Religion and free speech
宗教與自由言論
The right to be rude
粗魯的權利
An offensive preacher acquires some unlikely allies
一名無禮牧師獲得一些意想不到的盟友
MICHAEL OVERD is an evangelical Christian with strong views on the sinfulness of homosexuality and the wrongness of Islam (except, presumably, on the issue of homosexuality). He likes to hold forth among the shoppers of Taunton, a quiet town in south-west England. But on March 23rd Mr Overd was found guilty of using threatening or abusive language—although a more serious charge of causing “religiously aggravated” offence was rejected. The judge, Shamim Qureshi, ordered him to pay ￡250 ($375) in compensation to a man who said he was left feeling “ashamed and belittled” by the preacher's stance on same-sex relations.
邁克爾·奧維德是一名福音基督徒，他認為同性戀是一種原罪，而伊斯蘭教是錯的（不過可能在認為同性戀有罪上或許他們是一致的），對此他持有強硬的態度。他喜歡在英格蘭西南部的一個安靜小鎮湯頓里，向顧客作長篇大論的演講。但在3月23號，奧維德被判使用恐嚇性或侮辱性語言的罪名，盡管更嚴重的指控給—造成“宗教騷擾”被駁回了。法官沙米姆·庫勒西令其向一名男士支付250鎊（374美元）的賠償金，這名男士表示因牧師在同性關系所持立場令他感到“羞愧和輕視”。
When Mr Overd objected to “paying 250 to a sodomite” the judge threatened him with 45 days in prison. The preacher then agreed to pay compensation but said he would appeal. “I find it quite incredible that a Muslim judge finds a Christian guilty and wants to protect homosexuals, whom I have no personal hatred against,” he declared on leaving the courtroom.
當奧維德拒絕“付250鎊給一個同性戀者”時，法官威脅警告他將面臨45天的牢獄之災。這位牧師最終答應了支付賠償金但表示將會上訴。在離開法庭時他聲明：“我覺得一名穆斯林法官判定一名基督徒有罪還想保護同性戀是不可思議的，但我對同性戀并沒有個人恩怨?！?/p>
The evangelist has acquired some unlikely defenders. The National Secular Society (NSS), which fights religious privilege of all kinds, says the case vindicates its long-running campaign to safeguard free speech from sloppy legislation. Mr Overd was prosecuted under the Public Order Act, which outlaws “threatening, insulting or abusive” language and can result in prison sentences of up to seven years if the offence is deemed to be racially or religiously motivated.
這位福音傳道者獲得了一些令人意想不到的捍衛者。英國世俗協會（NSS）反對任何形式的宗教特權，該協會表示這個案子證明了在漏洞百出的法律下爭取自由言論的長期運動是正確的。奧維德在公共秩序法之下被迫害，這部法律將“威脅性、污蔑性或侮辱性”話語定為非法，如果罪行是種族或宗教問題而引發的話，可能會被判高達七年的有期徒刑。
Thanks to a campaign by the NSS and others, the law has been amended so that insulting language no longer incurs prosecution merely because the police think it has the potential to offend. It must be shown that an insult was directed at a particular person or group, and that offence was taken. But civil libertarians want the law further amended to protect insulting speech and take away the reference to religious aggravation. Although Britain has abolished its ancient ban on blasphemy, which punished insults against Christianity, the concept of religious aggravation amounts to a new sort of blasphemy law that could be used to prevent criticism of any religion, argues Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the NSS.
由于NSS和其他人推動，這項法律已被修訂。因此警方再也不能認為公民的言語有冒犯傾向而對其提出訴訟，警方必須要證明侮辱是針對某個特定的人或群體，并且該冒犯行為已被人當真。但公民自由主義者希望法律進行進一步修訂，保護侮辱性的言語并取消關于宗教騷擾的條文。盡管英國已取消褻瀆神明這一禁止侮辱基督教的古老禁令，宗教騷擾這一概念意味著一種新的褻瀆神明法，可以被用來阻止對任何宗教的批判，NSS的執行理事基斯·波蒂厄斯·伍德如是說。
One of Britain's best known gay-rights campaigners, Peter Tatchell, has offered to speak in court in favour of the preacher's right to hold forth. He thinks that Mr Overd's views are bigoted and would protest against them. But being spared offence is not a human right, he says: “In a free, democratic society, the criminalisation of unpleasant opinions is a step too far.”
皮特·塔切爾是英國最著名的同性戀權利捍衛者之一，他提出要在法庭上發言支持牧師演講的權利。他認為奧維德的觀點是僵化的并會抵制這些言行。但他說，不受冒犯不是一項人權，“在一個自由民主的社會，對不受歡迎的意見定罪未免太過了。”譯者：王穎 校對：唐宇
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