A decision in a case regarded as a bellwether in the developing standoff between the right to free speech and so-called “hate crimes” laws that punish “thoughts” or “perceptions” has arrived – and it affirms the right of free speech.
The decision comes from the highest appeals court in Alberta. The court week dismissed an appeal of a lower court decision that ruled Pastor Stephen Boissoin was not liable to pay a $5,000 penalty and issue an apology for a letter he wrote to the editor of a local newspaper.
WND previously reported Alberta adopted a “hate speech” law with promises the measure would be reserved for actions that accompany “hate speech.”
Boissoin’s letter to the Red Deer Advocate newspaper criticized those who “in any way support the homosexual machine that has been mercilessly gaining ground in our society since the 1960s.”...