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Today in Ecclesiastical Court of Indecent Behavior in a Church Involving Privileged Legal Status of Religionists |
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Compiled by GayToday
Of the seven OutRage! protesters in the cathedral, only Tatchell was arrested and charged.
Britain's top civil liberties lawyer, Mike Mansfield, QC, has agreed to represent Tatchell. His solicitor, who has handled the case for the last six months, is the esteemed gay rights advocate, Angus Hamilton. Tatchell's defence will be "the right to free speech and peaceful protest". He will challenge the way the 1860 Act gives the church "privileged protection against protest". Amnesty International is monitoring the case, following calls for Tatchell to be adopted as a "prisoner of conscience" if he is jailed. The National Secular Society has launched an Appeal "deploring the prosecution of Peter Tatchell under the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act" and calling for the 1860 Act to be repealed on the grounds that "it gives the church unique and sweeping powers to suppress dissent". Many leading public figures have signed the NSS Appeal, including Sir Ludovic Kennedy, Claire Rayner, Viscount Falkland, Polly Toynbee, Alan Bennett, Michael Foot, Baroness Flather, Edward Bond, Lord Peston, Iain Banks, Marcelle d'Argy Smith, Lord Jenkins of Putney, and Vanessa Redgrave. Tony Benn, MP will appear as a character witness. Dr. Evan Harris, MP and the Bishop of Edinburgh and Primate of Scotland, the Rev. Richard Holloway, have written character references on Tatchell's behalf.
The prosecution claims that any form of protest in a church --no matter how peaceful and dignified-- is "indecent" under the 1860 Act. No Cathedral clergy or staff are appearing as prosecution witnesses. "What is at stake in this trial is the right to free speech and peaceful protest", said David Allison of OutRage!. "The real scandal is not OutRage!'s peaceful protest in defense of human rights, but Dr. Carey's advocacy of discrimination against lesbians and gay men. "The 1860 Act gives the church privileged immunity from protest. No other institution has these special, draconian powers to muzzle dissent. It should not be a crime to criticize an Archbishop in his cathedral." More recently, Dr. Carey condemned legislation to equalize the age of consent for gay men; urged MP's to vote in favor of the discriminatory status quo; and encouraged the House of Lords to overturn the 5:2 Commons majority (336 to 129) in favor of equality. "As President of the Children's Society --a Church of England charity-- Dr. Carey actively discriminates against lesbian and gay people by enforcing the Children's Society's ban on homosexual foster parents. This policy results in young people --who could be cared for by loving, responsible gay couples-- being left to suffer in the emotional coldness of local authority children's homes", said David Allison. Despite calling in October for "compassion" for General Pinochet, Dr. Carey declines to show similar Christian compassion and forgiveness towards Tatchell. The National Secular Society wrote to Dr. Carey in October, urging that he call for the charge to be dropped, or that he at least ask the court to exercise clemency by not jailing Tatchell. Carey refused.
Tatchell has been involved in over 1,000 direct action and civil disobedience protests during his 30 years of campaigning for lesbian and gay human rights. He has been convicted only once (following a peaceful protest in 1994 against Muslim fundamentalists who were advocating the murder of homosexuals): but that conviction was overturned on appeal. Add Your Voice to this Appeal: To add your voice to this appeal, cut and paste the two following paragraphs; adding your name, address, and any official capacity in which you are signing. E-mail address below: Two Paragraphs to Cut & Paste: We oppose religious privilege and support the right to peaceful protest. As well as deploring the prosecution of Peter Tatchell under the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860, we strongly believe that a jail term is entirely inappropriate for a peaceful protest in defence of human rights. We furthermore call for the repeal of the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860: it gives the church unique and sweeping powers to suppress dissent. This is unacceptable in a modern democracy. E-mail to: jgh@intonet.co.uk Photos courtesy of OutRage!'s Web site at www.outrage.cygnet.co.uk/ |
