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Stephen Fry under police investigation for blasphemy in Ireland [video]

independent.co.uk

1–10 of 48 posts

Re: Stephen Fry under police investigation for blasphemy in Ireland [video]

#4
post #2

This is a trial I'd like to watch.

Indeed. Apparently the most powerful entity in the entire universe needs government protection from the opinion of Stephen Fry. Doesn't seem like a fair fight to me.

Fry should make a statement similar to what Colbert made recently for his remarks against Trump "I've got the jokes, he's got the launch codes so it's a fair fight"

Re: Stephen Fry under police investigation for blasphemy in Ireland [video]

#5
post #2

This is a trial I'd like to watch.

Indeed. Apparently the most powerful entity in the entire universe needs government protection from the opinion of Stephen Fry. Doesn't seem like a fair fight to me.

I thought Stephen Fry was the most powerful entity in the universe.

Re: Stephen Fry under police investigation for blasphemy in Ireland [video]

#7

Yesterday I would argue this is unimaginable, someone being investigated for blasphemy in 2017 (in the west). We are dropping the ball on free speech. We chipping away on our liberties bit by bit. This is why hate speech laws are dangerous.

It won't go anywhere. Bizarrely the Irish blasphemy law is designed to be basically unenforceable, a fact admitted by the very minister who implemented it to much backlash at the time. The Irish government didn't even want a blasphemy law - it was forced to write one to fill a hole in the law caused by a reference to blasphemy in the Constitution. An early blasphemy law had been removed but removing it from law entirely requires a referendum to alter the Constitution. The "temporary" solution was a law worded in such a way any prosecution was pretty unlikely.

Re: Stephen Fry under police investigation for blasphemy in Ireland [video]

#8
post #2

This is a trial I'd like to watch.

Some of us would rather that such investigations never came to be, never mind for such charges to reach trial.

Think of it this way: how many people have expressed similar views? Do we really want to put those people on trial for providing rational responses to hypothetical questions?

Re: Stephen Fry under police investigation for blasphemy in Ireland [video]

#10

Yesterday I would argue this is unimaginable, someone being investigated for blasphemy in 2017 (in the west). We are dropping the ball on free speech. We chipping away on our liberties bit by bit. This is why hate speech laws are dangerous.

it's ireland...

abortion is still illegal in nearly all circumstances, divorce was only legalised in 1997 and only in very specific circumstances

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