Jason Osborne
Scotland’s proposed legislation makes it a crime to stir up hatred against any of the protected groups, which include race, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and transgender identity.
A societal dichotomy is rearing its head once again as a result, between those who argue that criminalising ‘hate crime’ is necessary to secure the perceived safety that it will bring to members of a country’s minority groups, while others voice concerns that such moves seriously undermine freedom of expression and the ability to articulate controversial opinions.
Teachings
The Scottish bishops are among those to caution against the bill, suggesting that orthodox teachings of the Church may be perceived as hateful against protected groups. They said: “Such pronouncements, which are widely held, might be perceived by others as an abuse of their own, personal worldview and likely to stir up hatred.”
It has further been suggested that such legislation may render the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church inflammatory, and therefore, criminal.
While these developments have not yet taken place in Ireland, it does raise the question as to whether such legislation is possible, or even likely, here. There is reason to suspect that it is.
Speaking to The Irish Times, the then Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan mentioned that a process had already begun in his department to formulate legislation that would “deal with” hate speech and hate crimes. He added that a public consultation programme launched last October in line with this.
Currently, An Garda Síochána define a hate crime as “any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person to, in whole or in part, be motivated by hostility or prejudice, based on actual or perceived age, disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender”.
The ‘hate’ aspect of a crime is filtered out as the investigation goes through the criminal justice system”
While Scotland is currently further down this road than Ireland, there is a small groundswell of support for the introduction of such legislation here. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties co-ordinated a report in 2018 which was funded by the European Commission, titled ‘Lifecycle of a Hate Crime’.
It considered the lack of legislation in this area to be a “policy vacuum”, and that as a result the “hate” aspect of a crime is filtered out as the investigation makes its way through the criminal justice system. As a result of their findings, they recommended legislation tailored to combat hate crime specifically be introduced to Ireland.
The evidence suggests that ‘anti-hate’ laws are becoming increasingly popular across Europe, and this should concern those of religious conviction. While moves to protect the vulnerable and oppressed are in line with Church teaching and its proclamation of the Gospel, compelling behaviour through legislation will seem to many a reckless and ill-considered way to achieve this goal.
As history has shown repeatedly, humans will be human, regardless of the laws a country puts in place. Hate-crime legislation can do little to bring about the world we desire to live in.
