Northern Irish MP Escapes Hate Speech Charges For Calling Gays Abomination

Relevant to my earlier post today about hate speech laws in the UK, today Northern Ireland member of Parliament Iris Robinson escaped charges for calling homosexuality an abomination. The case has festered for nearly a year as LGBT groups lobbied for Robinson to be charged.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Northern Ireland confirmed today it was not proceeding with an investigation into the MP's comments. Robinson, who is married to Northern Ireland's first minister, Peter Robinson, also said gay people could be "cured" of their homosexuality by psychotherapy. Eighty complaints were made to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) accusing the Strangford MP of incitement to hatred. John O'Doherty, the equality officer for the gay rights Rainbow Project, who was one of the people who made a complaint, described the decision as "a complete miscarriage of justice". O'Doherty said: "It is our understanding that Mrs Robinson has not even been interviewed in relation to the allegations made against her. The legislation which we believe to have been broken by these actions clearly calls for intent.

There aren't enough prison cells in the United States to hold all the people that publicly call us abominations. You may want to check out one of the anti-Robinson videos that have floated around YouTube since she called homosexuality "wicked, vile, disgusting, immoral" during a BBC radio interview.