Britain's anti-extremism bill could target Christians opposed to gay marriage

The British government is expected to announce a bill on May 18 that would address counter-extremism, but the leader of a Christian organization has warned that Christians who go against gay marriage could be criminalized if the bill becomes law.

"The government talks about tackling extremism and preventing people promoting hatred," Simon Calvert, deputy director of public affairs at The Christian Institute, told Christian Today. "If those words had their ordinary meaning Christians would have nothing to worry about but unfortunately they don't."

Calvert explained that Christians are often labeled as "extremists," and are falsely accused to hatred.

"If you put those two words into a statute," he said, "how can you be sure they won't be interpreted in that same overly broad way to capture innocent Christians simply going about the business of preaching the gospel and declaring the council of God?"

The legislators have been working on the bill for several months, and The Guardian says that the proposed law has undergone "dozens of drafts," with the lawmakers trying to come up with a "legally robust" working definition of "extremism."

According to Breitbart, hate messages against the military and calls for the widespread adoption of Muslim sharia law in the United Kingdom are said to be some of the actions that have been suggested to be criminalized, as reportedly discussed at a Home Office internal meeting. While the details have not yet been disclosed, it is believed that one of the main points of the bill is what is known as EDOs or "Extremism Disruption Orders," a controversial order that would allow police to ask the High Court for power in order to restrict the freedoms and movements of people suspected of being extremists.

Last year, Tory MP Mark Spencer cited gay marriage as an example, as quoted by Breitbart, "Teachers will still be free to express their understanding of the term 'marriage', and their moral opposition to its use in some situations without breaking the new laws. The EDOs, in this case, would apply to a situation where a teacher was specifically teaching that gay marriage is wrong." 

Because EDOs are believed to threaten free speech, The Christian Institute allied with human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell Foundation and the National Secular Society in 2015 and launched a campaign group caled Defend Free Speech.

The problem is the government's "overemphasis on what it calls non-violent extremism," Calvert said. "Sadly when the government says it wants to promote British Values it seems to mean gay rights. Trying to force Christians to sign up to LGBT rights won't do anything to stop Islamist terrorists murdering innocent civilians."