in canada quoting the bible is about to become a crime; 

 

In what former Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer called “a dark day for free speech in Canada,” the House of Commons passed a bill Wednesday that could criminalize the quoting of Bible passages if they are deemed to be hateful.

Bill C-9 passed the House on a 186-137 vote. Liberal Party and Bloc Québécois members of Parliament all voted in favor of the bill, while MPs from the Conservative, New Democratic, and Green parties opposed it en masse “in a rare form of unity among the usually opposing parties,” reported LifeSiteNews.

The previous day, in a nearly identical vote, the same parties shut down all debate on the bill to force it to a floor vote without the opportunity for further amendments.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it will almost certainly be approved since that body primarily consists of appointees of former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Canada’s Senate, modeled on the U.K.’s House of Lords, is an unelected body.)

Fraser Burn

Introduced by Liberal Justice Minister Sean Fraser, the “Combatting Hate Act” increases the maximum penalties for crimes “motivated by hatred based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, color, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.” For example, an offense whose maximum sentence is currently two years will have a maximum sentence of five years if the government believes it was motivated by hatred; a sentence of 14 years may be increased to life under the same circumstances. This, of course, gives prosecutors and judges considerable leeway to punish people whose opinions they dislike.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the bill also removes a religious exemption to the existing law’s prohibitions of “communicating statements” that promote or incite “hatred against any identifiable group.” Previously, an individual who could demonstrate that, “in good faith, they expressed … an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text” would not be guilty of a hate crime. Now, quoting Bible (or Torah or Koran) verses that condemn, e.g., homosexuality, transgenderism, or abortion could land someone behind bars............more........