The Editor, Sir:

Finally, a letter writer/commentator who believes that personal insults and ridicule are not acceptable means of conducting public discourse. I refer to Joseph Schwartz's reasoned response (Wednesday, November 2) to my recent column touching on hate-crime legislation.

First, he attributes to me a statement which was actually a quote from theologian Robert Gagnon, in reference to hate-crime legislation "encoding in law" objectors as bigots. I did not say that. But there are reasons why some people have this fear.

Peaceful protest

A small group of Christians peacefully protesting at a homosexual parade in Philadelphia in 2004 was prosecuted for hate speech before the case was finally overturned. Three felony charges were for "ethnic intimidation" - proclaiming that homosexual behaviour was sinful. In 2007, US District Judge Lawrence Stengel ruled that the city of Philadelphia had a right to "exclude persons expressing contrary messages" from the vicinity of the Outfest parade though the event was in a public place.

The judge expressed the view that the permit granted by the city for the homosexuals to march permitted the police to silence the Christian activists' opposition on the public streets. One US Assistant State Attorney, Thomas Carroll, has said openly: "You can be charged with a hate crime if you make a statement or take an action that inflicts injury or incites a breach of the peace based on a person's creed, gender or perceived sexual orientation."

Nervous about hate crimes

One can, therefore, understand why some Christians are nervous about hate-crime legislation and its potential to threaten free speech. Ironically, Schwartz cites the example of Germany and the oft-recited "first they came for" quotation. But it was in Germany, with its impressive set of civil liberties, where people were saying, "it could not happen here!" just before the Nazis proved otherwise.

Some in America are saying, Mr Schwartz, that despite the cases you eloquently cited with regard to America, "it could happen there".

I am, etc.,

IAN BOYNE

Kingston