Chat

[Super Nova]

Sometimes the law is an ass but sometimes the cop are bigger arseholes.

Law which made it illegal to call a police horse 'gay' is to be changed - In the UK

A law which has been used to try to convict a student who said “woof” to a police dog, or called a police horse ”gay” is to be changed.

The amendment has had been pushed for by comedian Rowan Atkinson who had warned that criticism, unfavourable comparison or “merely stating an alternative point of view” could be interpreted as an insult and lead to arrest.

WTF are the cops thinking and now the law has to change because of their interpretation of the law. Imagine this law being applied to PA. We would all be in prision. IQ would have a special unit with a revolving door that as soon as he got outside he would need to be dragged immediately back in again.

Home secretary Theresa May said the Government will accept a House of Lords amendment to remove the word 'insulting’ from Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

The amendment had been promoted in the House of Lords by Lord Dear, a former HM Inspector of Constabulary.

Six years ago police tried to prosecute Oxford student Sam Brown after he said to a mounted officer: “Excuse me, do you realise your horse is gay?"

Mr Brown, who made the comment during a night out with friends in Oxford after his final exams, was arrested under section 5 of the Public Order Act for making homophobic remarks.

However, after he refused to pay a £80 fine, the Crown Prosecution Service declined to pursue the case.

The following year Kyle Little, a 16-year-old from Newcastle, was fined £50 with £150 costs for saying “woof” to a Labrador dog in front of police officers.

Eventually the magistrates’ decision was overturned by a crown court. He had been arrested and charged under the Public Order legislation.

The amendment has had been pushed for by comedian Rowan Atkinson who had warned that criticism, unfavourable comparison or “merely stating an alternative point of view” could be interpreted as an insult and lead to arrest.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph last month, Lord Dear, said that the law had “no place in our country” because the law was being “used to undermine free speech because of the way it is framed”.

Last month House of Lords vote saw peers vote overwhelmingly by 150 to 54 in favour of the change. Campaigners welcomed the change. Simon Calvert, Reform Section 5 campaign director, said he was “very pleased” by the Government’s statement.

He said: “This is a victory for free speech. People of all shades of opinion have suffered at the hands of Section 5.

“By accepting the Lords amendment to reform it the Government has managed to please the widest possible cross-section of society. They have done the right thing and we congratulate them.”

A ComRes poll commissioned last year by the RS5 campaign showed that 62 per cent of MPs believed it should not be the business of government to outlaw “insults.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... anged.html

PA Justice Cycle

[boxy]

Quite frankly, I can't get too worked up about drunk idiots getting time to dry out when acting like dickheads, however...

The campaign against the law has brought together Christian and secular groups, Tory MPs and human rights campaigners, the comedian Rowan Atkinson and the gay rights and free speech campaigner Peter Tatchell. Former shadow home secretary David Davis established the "Feel Free to Insult Me" campaign which highlighted examples of the law's application including the treatment of John Richards, an atheist pensioner from Lincolnshire, who emailed police asking what would happen if he put up an A4 sign in his window saying "religions are fairy stories for adults". Lincolnshire police told him he could be arrested for "causing alarm and distress".

Keir Starmer, the current director of public prosecutions has backed a change in the law, writing to the amendment sponsors last week: "We are unable to identify a case in which the alleged behaviour leading to conviction could not properly be characterised as 'abusive' as well as 'insulting'. I therefore agree that the word 'insulting' could safely be removed without the risk of undermining the ability of the CPS to bring prosecutions."

"The criminalisation of insults is far too subjective and constitutes a dangerously low prosecution threshold," said Tatchell. "Anyone who values free speech and robust debate should welcome its removal from section five. The section five ban on insults has been abused to variously arrest people protesting peacefully against abortion and campaigning for gay equality and animal welfare. The open exchange of ideas – including unpalatable, even offensive ones – is the hallmark of a free and democratic society".

[AiA in Atlanta]

[Neferti]

That bloke is going BALD!

[boxy]

A small far north Queensland town will today hold a funeral for its controversial coffin-shaped toilet.

[JizzKnuckles]

Andy Murray's head is objectionable. As is his haircut. And his buttocks are unduly bulbous.

[boxy]

He can hit little yellow balls quite hard, though.

[JizzKnuckles]

He can hit little yellow balls quite hard, though.

Yup. He's very talented, but a bit nuts. Has youth and power over Roger, but not the self-belief. Go the Todger!

[boxy]

It's always a big call, betting against the fed. It's good to watch some good tennis, without having to put up with all that squealing. Whilever those women continue to squeal with every shot (presumably with the sole intention of putting off their opponent), I have no sympathy for their regular calls for equality on payday. Sure, most of them look fine, but to be deliberately annoying to everyone listening has seen me switch off on a regular basis.

STFU already

[Aussie]

He can hit little yellow balls quite hard, though.

Yup. He's very talented, but a bit nuts. Has youth and power over Roger, but not the self-belief. Go the Todger!

You have me fucked. Why bother with the tag?