“A Canadian court has upheld the right of two Christians to distribute literature on university campuses despite dislike for their message, and has found the men not guilty of a mischief charge following their arrest this past spring. As previously reported, in April Peter LaBarbera, the director of the U.S.-based Christian ministry Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, and Canadian activist Bill Whatcott were placed in handcuffs and escorted off the University of Regina campus when they refused to leave and stop distributing pamphlets on homosexuality and abortion. ... When Whatcott and LaBarbera proceeded with their outreach, they were arrested, charged with mischief and later released. ... A trial was held in October, and on Monday, Judge Marylynne Beaton found both men not guilty, releasing a 27-page opinion that upheld the Christians’ right to disseminate their views under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. ‘I find that the purpose of Mr. Whatcott and Mr. LaBarbera attending the University of Regina was to communicate information and their actions were passive and non-aggressive,’ she wrote. ‘Therefore, notwithstanding that the university may be private property, I find that [the Charter] may be used as a defense to a finding of mischief by interfering with university property as they had the right to communicate in a peaceful manner on university property.’ Beaton also stated that the university’s reasoning to remove the men and stop them from sharing their message in order to ‘prevent students from feeling discriminated against’ was improper. ... LaBarbera says that he is pleased with the decision and hopes that it will be used as a precedent for other free speech matters in the country. ‘Hopefully, this ruling will open up the door to a resurgence of true tolerance and freedom in Canada,’ he wrote in an update on Tuesday. ‘The Left in Canada, as in the United States, does not want debate but rather control. They fear unfettered exposure to moral truth and compelling facts about homosexuality--hence their campaign to silence Christians and others who speak out against sexual immorality and gender rebellion.’”“ Canadian Court Upholds Right,” Christian News Network, Dec. 24, 2014 Comments are closed.
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