Finnish MP urges EU to repeal law banning criticism of LGBT

Päivi Räsänen. Photo: Getty/iStock

Finnish Parliament member Päivi Räsänen, whom the Supreme court found guilty of "hate speech" for a 2004 church pamphlet titled "Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Understanding of Humanity", has called for the repeal of all European laws prohibiting criticism of LGBT. This is reported by christiantoday website.

The Supreme Court ruled that the pamphlet, which Räsänen continued to share after she was charged, “made available to the public and kept available to the public opinions that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation."

Following her conviction Räsänen said it was false to claim that freedom of speech is “alive and well” in Europe.

Referring to Lutheran bishop Juhana Pohjola, who co-authored the pamphlet and was also found guilty, Räsänen said, “the bishop and I are ‘criminals’ for peacefully sharing our beliefs in the public square by way of the pamphlet.

Päivi Räsänen argues that the court's decision ordering the destruction of the brochure is censorship that throws Europe back to darker times in its history. She emphasizes that the ambiguity of what exactly "hate speech" means serves as a tool for such censorship. The MP called for the repeal of this law, which, in particular, criminalizes criticism of LGBT.

As the UOJ reported, a Finnish court convicted an MP for a Christian pamphlet criticizing LGBT idiology.

Read also