When the Government decided last January to drop Section 5 of the Public Order Act, which criminalised “insulting language”, the move was hailed rightly as a victory for free speech. But if Mr Gove now says that he supports free expression only if it doesn’t offend gays, he undermines the gains made in ditching Section 5.
He also sets an alarming precedent. Tolerance will come with caveats, freedom with clauses. Today, Mr Gove and his Government prioritise the gay lobby; tomorrow, it could be the fat lobby to persuade the authorities that discrimination against their members damages pudgy youngsters growing up in a climate of hostility. We’ll inhabit a world where people cannot say “fatty” or “fatso” for fear of ending up on a secret register or in the Wimbledon nick.
In the end, Mr Miano was released without charge. He asked if he could keep the Gideon Bible that he’d received in prison. When it turned out to be the only copy, he asked if he could provide a few more. The following day, he dropped off 10 copies of the Good Book at Wimbledon police station.
That’s tolerance for you.
"Miano was then escorted back to his jail cell where he believed he would be spending the night. He began preaching and singing in his cell, and also asked his attorney if he could have a copy of the Bible. Miano said that after he received the Scriptures, he turned to the Book of Acts and began to find “great comfort” in the stories of the apostles who were also jailed for their bold preaching.
However, much to his surprise, after some time, the detective came to his cell to inform him that there had been a change of plans.
“He said, ‘The inspector has decided to release you with no further action,’” Miano recalled, shocked by the news."
~ Source
Video of the arrest here.
Transcript of police interrogation here.
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