The fight against homophobia suffered a blow in the House of Lords today, as voters retained an amendment that legitimises the defence of free speech in cases involving the incitement of anti-gay hatred.
The amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act permits the "discussion or criticism" of sexual practices, including the use of threatening language to urge someone to change their sexual orientation.
The Lords voted 186-133 to keep the amendment, a margin of 53 votes. The House of Commons, where the bill will return later this year, voted in March to remove the amendment by a margin of 154.
Lord Waddington, the Conservative Home Secretary under Margaret Thatcher who tabled the amendment, insisted that each individual case must be considered: "One must look at the circumstances and the manner in which the words are spoken to see whether they were in fact threatening and driven by hate."
Famous faces including actors Rowan Atkinson and Christopher Biggins campaigned earlier this year to show their concerns with the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, which they believed would curtail freedom of expression and lead to comedians being prosecuted for jokes about sexual orientation.
Mike Judge, Head of Communications at The Christian Institute, also welcomed the Lords’ decision: “Genuine supporters of free speech will be pleased with this result.
“Too many Christians have already been intimidated by over-zealous police action because they gave voice to their views on sexual ethics. Surely the world is big enough to allow all sides to express their beliefs about sexual behaviour without fearing a knock on the door from the police”.
The Ministry of Justice, however, labelled the defeat “disappointing”, and will seek to overturn the decision in the Commons.