The Court of Appeal in Britain has ruled that free speech includes the right to offend, finding that “Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having”. The landmark ruling was handed down in the case of a mother, Kate Scottow, who was arrested in front of her children because she described a trans activist who had […]
The Department of Justice’s new report, titled ‘Legislating for Hate Speech and Hate Crime in Ireland’, recommends the introduction of draconian and expansive hate based laws in Ireland but contains absolutely no recommendations on how to protect free speech and ensure the laws don’t stifle public debate. The report, published last week, will be used […]
The European Commission has announced that they will be making perceived “hate speech” a crime under EU law. But who decides what is hateful? Ben Scallan reacts. #gript
A new group made up of various far-left organisations is formally launching today in order to campaign against Ireland’s “far right”. “LeCheile” is made up, as you might guess, of all the usual suspects: The National Women’s Council, The Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Sinn Fein, The Union of Students in Ireland, Gaza action Ireland, The […]
On Friday, we reported on the contents of Fianna Fáil’s new Hate Crime Bill, which will be debated in the Seanad this week. Ahead of that debate, it is worth setting out for our readers why we at Gript believe hate crime laws are one of the worst ideas ever introduced by Irish politicians. Here […]
Conversations at home that incite hatred must be prosecuted under Scotland’s hate crime law, the Scottish justice secretary has insisted.
There are good arguments to be made in challenging modern views on sexuality, gender and immigration, but it is the very voicing of controversial opinions that is now under threat.
There has, naturally, been quite a bit of chatter in recent days about the despicable, racist attack carried out by a gang of Dublin gurriers on an innocent east Asian woman last week. If you haven’t seen it, here it is. In this case, there is no doubt whatever that racism was a primary factor […]
The preacher asked if he was allowed to say “that homosexuality is wrong”. “It depends what you’re saying,” replied the policeman “but if I hear something and I don’t think it’s right I’ll act upon it.”
Räsänen, who has been a member of parliament since 1995, has been accused of “hate speech” after questioning the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s official partnership with “Pride 2019”.
JOURNALIST Toby Young has set up a free speech union in Britain in response to what many see as a clampdown on freedom of expression. Ben Scallan asks if we need the same in Ireland. https://youtu.be/5UrzSRQgOt8 #gript
Yesterday, the hashtag #BeKind was trending on Twitter, closely followed by the name Rónán Mullen. Senator Mullen is a pro-life politician who normally gets pretty nasty abuse from the liberal left on Twitter. Perhaps, I thought, the tragic death of Caroline Flack, who was tormented by vicious trolls on social media and the tabloids before dying […]