UK police threatened to arrest a restaurant owner for displaying Bible verses on a TV screen under the Public Order Act, which prohibits "insulting" words that can cause "harassment, alarm or distress."
For background on the crackdown in UK (the precursor for America), read Preacher Threatened with Arrest for Publicly Reading Bible and also read Christian Grandmother's Letter to City Council a Hate Crime? as well as Pastor Jailed for Saying Homosexuality is Sin
-- From "Christian cafe 'warned over homophobic Bible verses'" posted at BBC News 9/27/11
Jamie Murray said he was not told which Bible verse was "offensive" The owner of a Christian cafe in Blackpool was warned by police that Bible verses shown on a TV screen breached public order laws.
Jamie Murray, who runs the Salt and Light cafe in Layton, said he was told there had been a complaint about "homophobic material".
Mr Murray stated: "I did say to the police, 'are you seriously telling me I could be arrested for playing the Bible quietly on a screen?'.
He said the officers replied they would be looking at anything that people could find offensive or insulting.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Police tell cafe owner: Stop showing Bible DVDs, or we will have to arrest you" by Ross Slater and Jonathan Petre, UK Daily Mail 9/25/11
Police have threatened a Christian cafe owner with arrest –for displaying passages from the Bible on a TV screen.
Mr Murray, 31, was left shocked after he was questioned for nearly an hour by the officers, who arrived unannounced at the premises.
He said he had turned off the Bible DVD after an ‘aggressive inquisition’ during which he thought he was going to be arrested and ‘frog-marched out of the cafe like a criminal’.
But he added: ‘I have now checked on my rights and I am not going to be bullied by the police and the PC lobby out of playing the Bible silently in my cafe. It’s crazy. Christians have to stand up for what they believe in.’
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Police ban Bible from Christian café" posted at The Christian Institute 9/24/11
The Bible texts are displayed on a TV screen at the back of the café. Mr Murray uses a set of DVDs called the Watchword Bible.
The DVDs cycle through the whole of the New Testament verse by verse, with the words appearing on the screen. Mr Murray mutes the audio.
Sam Webster, The Christian Institute’s in-house Solicitor-Advocate, said: “We will be advising Mr Murray of his legal options. He may well have grounds for a legal action against the police for infringing his rights to free speech and religious liberty.
The Christian Institute is calling for the word “insulting” to be removed from Section 5 of the Public Order Act – a proposal supported by the National Secular Society, two civil rights groups Liberty and Justice, and Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Police say ‘sorry’ over Christian café Bible case" posted at The Christian Institute 9/29/11
Police visited the café owner on Tuesday, admitted they got the law wrong, and said sorry for the ‘manner’ of their investigation.
But they refused to apologise for launching the investigation and they also denied banning the display of the Bible texts in the café.
The café owner, Jamie Murray, says he accepts the police’s apology as far as it goes. He forgives them but he believes some important matters remain unaddressed.
Mr Murray says he will not allow the police to brush the incident under the carpet, because he is worried that it could happen to another Christian.
Supported by The Christian Institute, he has taken legal advice and intends to lodge a formal complaint with the police.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Judge Says Judeo-Christian Values Are Obsolete
