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Blasphemy Amendment to Defamation Bill to pass into Law on July 10th 2009
national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
opinion/analysis
Sunday June 28, 2009 11:48 by Guillotine
Mc Dowell's 2006 Bill to be guillotined A series of 17 Bills which are in the queue for legislation for the Dáil period
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Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2This is the most idiotic bill ever concieved.
It is so open ended as to be unworkable.
For religious nutjobs whether they are Muslims, born again Christians, Catholics etc the very existence of any religious viewpoint contrary to their own is blasphemous.
There could not possibly be an free or open discussion on religion or faith in Ireland because any statement anyone makes on any issue (e.g. was Jesus just a very holy man who Christians follow as a moral example or was he truely God made flesh or was he not really a man but God in disguise?) would lead to charges of blasphemy.
Simply saying "I do not believe in God" is blasphemy according to the all religions.
You exaggerate I think. People are free to debate God and His existence and other philosophical matters. Letters on such matters appear in the papers regularly, and blog comments . Vincent Browne has aired his sceptical views and has hosted guests of opposing views on the state radio RTE for many years. People who want to provoke reason-based discussions will be able to continue in this vein. Since the 1970s an organisation called B&ICO has published a magazine called Church and State. The only hindrance was the refusal of mainstream book and newsagent shops to stock it. Maybe the non-glossy appearance was a commercial factor in such decisions.
Individuals who want to provoke wild street demonstrations with crude cartoons, as happened in Denmark, may find their 'artistic' efforts thwarted however. Bunreacht na hEireann gives the right to public assembly and expression of opinion "subject to public order and morality". This phrase occurs a few times elsewhere in the constitution.