EU assault on traditional family values
01 April 2009
Proposed EU legislation will undermine Christian ethics if it goes through, European Parliament MP Jim Allister has warned.
While trying to address Equal Treatment for everyone in the EU it will actually undermine the faith and ethics many hold dear, he said.
Gay rights activists could claim harassment if they claim offence from a Christian preacher promoting the biblical faith ethics of traditional husband and wife marriages, said Mr Allister, speaking from the European Parliament.
The European Parliament was debating the new proposed EU Directive on Equal Treatment, with the vote on Thursday.
Mr Allister, a QC, said it purports to implement the principle of equal treatment on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, in areas beyond the labour market.
Speaking during the debate Mr Allister said: "I will be voting against this report and the proposed Directive for these reasons.
"I dissent from the belief that the EU rather than national governments should be legislating on these issues, believing every member state is best placed to decide if it needs such legislation. If ever there was a subsidiarity issue this should be it.
"The new offence of harassment, defined as "unwanted conduct which takes place with the effect of violating the dignity of a person and creating a hostile or offensive environment"*, has the alarming prospect of curbing freedom of speech and freedom of religion for Christian preachers.
"Christians preaching the gospel, particularly in a public place, to people from other faiths, who take offence and claim it as an assault on their dignity, could breach this law. Likewise defending and promoting a biblical approach to monogamous heterosexual marriage could allow litigious gay rights activists to claim harassment."
Mr Allister said the proposed legislation would also have dire consequences for printers and other business people who uphold their faith.
"The measures within the directive are disproportionate and inadequately balanced. It compels the Christian printer, for example, to accept an order to print material which offends his religious beliefs, whereas he should be free to conduct his business according to his conscience. Without essential balancing mechanisms this Directive will become an instrument which in fact creates discrimination.
"This is an unnecessary Directive, infringing the basic rights, particularly of people of faith and conscience, and illustrates all that is over-reaching, meddling and wrong-headed within this EU."
*The full definition of harassment is: "unwanted conduct which takes place with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person and of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment."
