1 October 2004
Attention: Ms Lesley Ferguson Government
Administration Committee
Parliament Buildings, Wellington
The Society wishes to make an oral submission on each
of the five terms of reference that are to be considered
by the committee in its Inquiry into Hate Speech. Twenty
copies of the substantive submission will be forwarded
next week to the committee detailing our concerns.
The task of the Christian apologist is to give a
reasoned defence of the Christian faith and promote the
special character and unique claims found in Christian
teaching. In is common knowledge that Christians have
been vilified as a group throughout the world, both
today and over the past two millennia, for their
beliefs, lifestyle and practices. Not only have they
been vilified, they have been subject to torture,
genocide, and unspeakable atrocities because of their
faith. However, they have been divinely called to
forgive their persecutors and tormentors and carry their
own crosses with humility and courage like their founder
the Lord Jesus Christ. They have been commanded by
Christ to pray for their persecutors. Christians have
also been at the forefront of movements that have sought
to establish freedom and rights for the individual and
groups (e.g. William Wilberforce and the abolition of
slavery).
The Society notes the view expressed in the Dominion
editorial of Wednesday, September 29, 2004, dealing with
the proposed "hate speech" legislation:
"This country pays at least lip service to free
speech. [Hate speech] Laws to circumscribe it must be
strongly resisted". The Society recognises that a
tiny minority of our population (gay rights activists)
has led the calls for "hate speech". The
merits of their case for new "hate speech"
laws need to be carefully examined in the light of their
own particular agenda.
The Society requests that the committee define
clearly the term "hate speech" to be used as a
basis for its investigation, identify the legislation
that is claimed to already exist "to prohibit or
restrain hate speech" and define the nature of the
"certain groups" it has in mind that have
called for protection (censorship) from material they
consider to be "hate speech". Such calls have
certainly not come from the Christian community, which
is regularly subjected to abuse and name-calling by its
detractors and opponents. It also requests that the
committee explain what form of statutory body it sees as
being set up by government to make determinations on
material containing so-called "hate speech" -
as to whether or not "an appropriate threshold test
for prohibition or restraint of hate speech" has
been reached.
David Lane
President WCAS
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