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Today's post is the perfect follow-up to this previous one from 6/27/13 (27-6-13 for those on the other side of the pond)
http://thehotgates480bc.blogspot.com/2013/06/magna-carta-is-dead-in-england.html
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I saw this report today in The Blaze, but a search turned up an article from The Telegraph, which was published on the 4th of July of all days.
In the United Kingdom, the wellspring of the strongest traditions of individual liberty and free speech that can be found in the entire world, it not only verboten to speak your mind, but you also are prohibited from making any statements concerning Christian teachings - this in a country in which Christianity is the official religion.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10159420/Christian-arrested-for-calling-homosexuality-a-sin-warns-of-real-life-thought-police.html
"Tony Miano, 49, a former senior police officer from the US, was held for around six hours, had his fingerprints and DNA taken and was questioned about his faith, after delivering a sermon about “sexual immorality” on a London street.
Mr Miano, who served as a Deputy Sherriff in Los Angeles County, said his experience suggested that the term “thought police” had become a reality in the UK.
He said he was amazed that it was now possible “in the country that produced the Magna Carta” for people to be arrested for what they say.
Mr Miano, who was provided with a solicitor by the Christian Legal Centre, was arrested under the controversial clause of the Public Order Act which bans “insulting” words or behaviour.............
He was speaking from a passage from Thessalonians which mentions “sexual immorality” and listed homosexuality alongside “fornication” as examples what he believed went against “God’s law”.
A woman out shopping called the police to complain that she was offended, prompting two officers to be dispatched to arrest him........
He said he was amazed that it was now possible “in the country that produced the Magna Carta” for people to be arrested for what they say.
Mr Miano, who was provided with a solicitor by the Christian Legal Centre, was arrested under the controversial clause of the Public Order Act which bans “insulting” words or behaviour.............
He was speaking from a passage from Thessalonians which mentions “sexual immorality” and listed homosexuality alongside “fornication” as examples what he believed went against “God’s law”.
A woman out shopping called the police to complain that she was offended, prompting two officers to be dispatched to arrest him........
During the subsequent questioning at Wimbledon police station he was asked about his beliefs on what constitutes “sin” and about how he would treat gay people in hypothetical situations.
“As the questioning started it became apparent that the interrogation was about more than the incident that too place in the street but what I believed and how I think,” he said.
“I was being interrogated about my thoughts … that is the basic definition of thought police.”
He said he had arrested many people in his career but never over something they believed.
“It surprised me that it is possible for a person to be taken to jail for their thoughts,” he said.
“It surprised me that here in the country that produced the Magna Carta that an otherwise law abiding person could loose his freedom because one person was offended by the content of my speech.”
He said he feared Britain and other countries were already on a “slippery slope” towards the erosion of free speech and has written to MPs outlining his experiences.
Andrea Williams, of the Christian legal Centre, said: “We might joke about there being ‘thought police’ but this case shows that it has already become a reality.
“Sadly we are seeing cases like this increasingly often”.
Mr Miano said that after he was questioned he was advised by his solicitor that police had indicated that they expected to charge him with a public order offence.
But after being sent back to his cell for around another hour he was informed that an inspector had decided that no further action would be taken. He was released about midnight........."
“As the questioning started it became apparent that the interrogation was about more than the incident that too place in the street but what I believed and how I think,” he said.
“I was being interrogated about my thoughts … that is the basic definition of thought police.”
He said he had arrested many people in his career but never over something they believed.
“It surprised me that it is possible for a person to be taken to jail for their thoughts,” he said.
“It surprised me that here in the country that produced the Magna Carta that an otherwise law abiding person could loose his freedom because one person was offended by the content of my speech.”
He said he feared Britain and other countries were already on a “slippery slope” towards the erosion of free speech and has written to MPs outlining his experiences.
Andrea Williams, of the Christian legal Centre, said: “We might joke about there being ‘thought police’ but this case shows that it has already become a reality.
“Sadly we are seeing cases like this increasingly often”.
Mr Miano said that after he was questioned he was advised by his solicitor that police had indicated that they expected to charge him with a public order offence.
But after being sent back to his cell for around another hour he was informed that an inspector had decided that no further action would be taken. He was released about midnight........."
The land that gave birth to some of the greatest political minds in history has been transformed, and the results are not pretty.
When I think about the manner in which members of Parliament would traditionally address each other, or the biting content of newspaper articles in Great Britain in the 18th century, and compare these to the Orwellian restrictions of public speaking in that nation today, my stomach turns.
Most Americans are not only blissfully unaware that our Mother Country is no longer the bastion of Liberty that she was for so long. They are even less aware that the plans are in place to bring about similar restrictions in the US.
In regards to Islam, Hillary Clinton has for some time been involved with moves to curb the First Amendment by making restrictions on speech that "defames religion". Feminists don't seem to have any beef with the manner in which women are treated by men in Islamic nations or families.
At this point, Orwellian restrictions on free speech are still at the mob level. You will not be charged with an offense, but rest assured that the mob will rise up and attack you. Any reference to privileged groups or "lifestyles" will earn you a loss of employment, boycotting of your business and all who do business with you, acts of vandalism against your property, and other retaliatory measures for daring to speak out.
Over thirty years ago or more the saying; "Big brother is watching you" became very popular. That saying was not only meant to warn about what you were doing but also what you were saying. In the past thirty years that saying has proved that the one particular fundamental of constitutional rights, "Freedom of speech" is no longer a privilege of freedom.
ReplyDeleteYou are only as free as a government will allow!
F. Rispoli Sr.