By Abdul Masih —
In an Artic freeze falling over Finland, the Nordic nation’s Supreme Court held MP Päivi Räsänen guilty of a hate crime for a pamphlet she published following scriptural lines equating LGBTQ with sin. She must pay a fine and destroy the pamphlet that called homosexuality a “developmental disorder.”
“It was surprise and it was shocking. I was not expecting to be convicted,” said Räsänen, who before being a member of parliament was the Finnish interior minister 2011-’15.
As elsewhere around the world, legislation defining “hate crimes” is causing collisions between Free Speech and right to religious belief and practice AND on the other side, the feelings of “minority groups.”
Noting she did NOT incite violence, the court found Räsänen insulted and degraded a protected minority group. She had been acquitted in two lower courts, and her conviction at the Supreme Court was a narrow 3-2 vote. She will appeal to the European Union court.
Päivi Räsänen‘s troubles started when she posted on X a scripture from Romans challenging her church’s decision to support a Gay Pride parade.
Sources: CBN, UK Guardian.
