Campus pamphleteer exposing ‘homofascism’ acquitted of trespassing charge
CALGARY, Alberta , November 25, 2011 – A judge has acquitted a controversial pro-family activist from a July 2008 charge of trespassing at a Canadian university. William (Bill) Whatcott was arrested by campus security at the University of Calgary and put into a holding cell for distributing a pamphlet that addressed the “harmful consequences” of homosexuality. Whatcott, called the ruling a “victory for all Canadians who value freedom of expression and religious liberty on our university campuses.” Judge J.D. Bascom ruled from the Provincial Court of Alberta on November 15th that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms “applies” to the University of Calgary since “the University is not a Charter free zone.” Section 2.b of the Charter states that everyone has the “fundamental freedoms [of] thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” The University had argued that the Charter only applied to “government actors and