Comments, Suggestions, Discussions > Lets have a Winge

Do-Gooders have gone too far

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bob:
This reminds of this article I read the other day in the Australian.
Now these views don't reflect mine and I don't like guns,
But I find it kind of funny.
This is from the Courier Mail.
ciao bob




Lesbians accuse gun activist Ron Owen of vilifying gays




By Glenis Green

April 01, 2008 12:00am

CONTROVERSIAL gun lobbyist Ron Owen is being taken to court by a group of lesbians who allege he has breached the Anti-Discrimination Act by publicly vilifying gay people.
The case, set for hearing from Thursday, could have landmark repercussions based on Mr Owen's use of the Bible, the Koran and the Jewish Torah for his defence, along with a "freedom of speech" defence.

The case is being brought by Rachelle Menzies, Tina Coutts, Rhonda Bruce, Sue Turner and lesbian group "Women 2 Women" through Brisbane's Caxton Legal Centre.

Mr Owen, who failed this month in his tilt at the mayoralty of the new Gympie Regional Council after spending four years as a Cooloola Shire councillor, owns a gun shop in Gympie and is a former president of the National Firearm Owners of Australia and publisher of ultra right-wing pro-militia magazine Lock Stock & Barrel.

Never one to hide his political incorrectness, Mr Owen has sparked controversy over the years for an allegedly anti-gay stance dating to when he was at the forefront of volatile protests against the 1997 national gun buyback scheme, in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre.

Back then he sold bumper stickers which said such things as "Register Poofters, not Guns", "Gay Rights. The only rights gays have is the right to die (Lev 20: 13)" and "Animal Vivisection is Cruel – use the morally degenerate instead".

The issue became public in 2005 during his term in council, when fellow councillor Peter Cantrell asked Mr Owen how he could claim to be a champion of the underdog and protector of the downtrodden and still display an anti-gay sticker on his car.

Mr Owen's reported reply was: "That's because I probably don't class gays as humans."

The ensuing uproar even caught the attention of then premier Peter Beattie, who blasted Mr Owen for his "appalling, embarrassing, outrageous and un-Christian comments".

Mr Owen said he would strenuously defend himself at this week's Anti-Discrimination Tribunal hearing, relying on the right to free speech as well as ancient scripture which condemns homosexuality.

Mr Owen said he would argue in his defence that if religious books expressed a general philosophy with which he agreed then the people who printed, published and distributed those printed words should also be respondents in the case.

He said it was the fourth attempt to bring him before the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal over the issue, with other actions having been thrown out before they reached the hearing stage.

 

busbydaze:
Me smells media beat up.
Who was it who sung "don't believe da hype"

Jaylee:
It is absolutely ludicrious, when i was at school, we had a midget in our class, her nickname (even from parents and the teachers) as well as the kids, was Midgie.

She loved it, and as far as everybody was concerned that was her name. Could you ever imagine that happening now?

Them was the good old days !!!!!!

zdsc:
What's more frustrating is that this sort of thing makes the situation worse.

Say someone is ambivalent towards gay people.  Then they hear that "because of gay people", stupid ideas like this are put into action.  Then they have a reason to feel hostile towards gay people. 

It's the same in England with the Christmas things, as has been mentioned.  As far as I know, Islamic people in England don't have a problem with Christmas.  Someone decides on their behalf that it might offend them, Christmas as a term is sidelined and then English people get angry at Islamic people because they think they've caused "Christmas" to be removed.

It's baffling that there are such stupid people in positions of power. 

gazzastapo:
what pisses me off most about that article Bob put up...is that it's my bloody tax dollars that are funding this crap. the Caxton Legal Centre is Govenment funded.

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