Quoting from Leviticus seen as threat - police arrests
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| Christian Legal Centre (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Mike Overd was fined £200 for quoting part of a passage from Leviticus 20 which condemns same-sex relationships as sinful and calls for gay men to be put to death.
But District Judge Shamim Ahmed Qureshi told Overd he could instead have chosen a separate passage in Leviticus 18 which merely describes homosexuality as an “abomination” but does not specify death as a punishment.
He acquitted the former paratrooper, who regularly preaches on the streets of Taunton, Somerset, of a separate charge for suggesting that the Prophet Mohammed was a “paedophile”.
Overd, represented in court by the barrister Paul Diamond and supported by the Christian Legal Centre, was convicted of breaching Section Five of the Public Order Act which deals with “threatening” words or behaviour.
He insists he did not read the part of the verse calling for gay people to be put to death and said he had effectively been convicted of quoting the “wrong” verse.
The judge said the fact that the passage from Leviticus 20 called for gay men to be put to death meant his remarks could be seen as a threat. "If Leviticus 20:23 is not considered threatening and abusive words that will be a licence to all and sundry from the drunkard to the violent extremist of any faith to use it as a code word without being convicted of homophobic crime," Judge Qureshi said.
"It is imperative that the rights of all people in society are protected.
"That is what successive UK governments have sought to do with equality laws although the defendant describes the Government as 'fallen and wicked'."
After the case, Overd said: “I am amazed that the judge sees it as his role to dictate which parts of the Bible can and can’t be preached. I did not quote the full text of Leviticus 20 or make reference to the death penalty but the judge is telling me that I should use other parts of the Bible. This is not free speech but censorship. The judge is redacting the Bible.”
Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said the ruling appeared to make the quoting of certain passages of the Bible illegal.
“Whilst we all want to encourage public civility, there is a higher principle at stake,” he said. “As long as there is no incitement to violence, then people should be allowed to speak freely without fearing legal repercussions.
