Swedish Pastor Acquitted of Hate Speech

[truthpusher]

Another lovely example of the world we live in tody

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/breaking_news/10879692.htm

Posted on Fri, Feb. 11, 2005

Swedish Pastor Acquitted of Hate Speech

MATTIAS KAREN

Associated Press

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - An appeals court Friday overturned the hate crimes conviction of a Swedish pastor who in a sermon had branded homosexuals a "cancer."

The Goeta Appeals Court said that while Aake Green's views of gays can be "strongly questioned," it was not illegal to offer a personal interpretation of the Bible and urge others to follow it.

(snip)

Green, 63, was the first clergyman convicted under Sweden's tough hate crimes laws, which make it a crime to make inflammatory remarks against racial, religious or national groups. The laws were ratified in 2003 to include homosexuals.

(snip)

Green gave his sermon the same year, telling a congregation on the small southeastern island of Oeland that homosexuals were "a deep cancer tumor on all of society." He warned congregants that Sweden risked a natural disaster because of its leniency toward gays.

"Homosexuality is something sick," Green said. He compared it with pedophilia and bestiality, saying gays were more likely to rape children and animals.

story:

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/breaking_news/10879692.htm

[Moderator]

1. duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1229449